So this is the first of a two-part saga chronicling my time at the London Film Festival, my first ever festival. Tonight's screening was Takashi Miike's 105th film, First Love. The screening actually started with an introduction from Miike, who stressed that, crazy as the film is, it is a love story, and he's absolutely right. As romances go, this is undoubtedly a crazy one, with yakuza, Chinese gangsters, ultraviolent fight scenes and a moment involving a toy dog that's utterly unforgettable, but it always keeps this genuinely believable love story at its centre. It's also a movie that doesn't get a release until 2020, but I'm reviewing it now because, y'know, film festivals. I'm literally just out of this film, so apologies if this review is a little unstructured, because I'm still just trying to process exactly what it was I saw. This is a film that turns your brain into soup, and spends the next hour and a half aggressively slurping it until there's nothing left. This film is wild, but it's also kind of amazing, and I can't wait to dive into it. Also, there are no spoilers in this post. Regular readers will know that I never spoil films in reviews anyway, but since we are talking about something that isn't actually out until next year, I'd absolutely understand if you didn't want to know anything. By and large, you're good to go, but just keep the release date in mind. We good? Good!
First Love follows a young boxer whose life intersects with that of a young woman with connections to the yakuza. Their relationship triggers a crazy series of events that come to involve the police, the Chinese triads, and a whole raft of assassins. I'm not going to go into specifics, but this plot is freaking mental. It's always on the move, twisting and developing and always going to the very last place you'd expect it to. There's a lot going on here, and even if the film occasionally loses track of all these different characters and ideas, it's pace and energy are enough to steer it back in the right direction. Confusing? Sometimes, but it's never boring, and it moves fast enough to get back into the action almost right away. The story melds mind bending action with surprisingly genuine emotion, and Miike's devotion to both of these aspects is what gives it such a unique punch.
This is my first Miike film, so I can't say how it compares to the rest of his filmography, but as an introduction, it definitely got me in the mood to check out more of his stuff. This is one of the most purely enjoyable cinema experiences I've had in ages. It's the perfect blend of comedy, action, romance and balls-to-the-wall craziness. Sometimes it's even weirdly profound in its musings on life, death and loneliness. I have a soft spot for movies that take place over the course of one night, and the way that this film is able to fit such wildly different tones and elements into its plot, while also making them feel completely organic is really special. This feels like that one wild night, one that starts off relatively normal but explodes into something really unique and special. The imagery is surreal and wild, yet weirdly meaningful. True, it's absolutely batshit, but Miike is telling a genuinely sweet story where everything happens for a reason. The crazy stuff is certainly crazy, but every batshit visual is grounded by something with real weight. When it slows down for the conclusion, it wraps up every idea it has presented, and that's when I realised that I really did care about what was going on. I think the crazier you make something, the more you have to build investment in something, and, although there's a lot going on here, you care enough about these two leads for the story beats to properly register. Under the crazy flourishes is something really substantial, and that's what makes it work
Obviously there's a lot more that I could and want to say about this movie, but I'll leave it at this: it was the perfect first festival movie. First Love is buckets of fun, with the exact kind of surreal humour and crazy plot that I never knew I needed. It's honest and genuine as well as being absolutely batshit insane, and also has some of the best side characters of the year (one gangster in particular is especially hilarious). So yeah, I kind of absolutely love this movie. The exhilaration of the whole thing gave me such a buzz, and the fact that I saw it with a huge crowd just added to the atmosphere. Everyone I saw it with was so into it, and as a viewing experience, it was pretty spectacular. Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I've seen a movie that's coming out next decade, but if this is the standard for 2020, then we're in for an absolute belter of a year. This is pure cult fun, and I'm glad it kicked of my LFF experience.
This is my first Miike film, so I can't say how it compares to the rest of his filmography, but as an introduction, it definitely got me in the mood to check out more of his stuff. This is one of the most purely enjoyable cinema experiences I've had in ages. It's the perfect blend of comedy, action, romance and balls-to-the-wall craziness. Sometimes it's even weirdly profound in its musings on life, death and loneliness. I have a soft spot for movies that take place over the course of one night, and the way that this film is able to fit such wildly different tones and elements into its plot, while also making them feel completely organic is really special. This feels like that one wild night, one that starts off relatively normal but explodes into something really unique and special. The imagery is surreal and wild, yet weirdly meaningful. True, it's absolutely batshit, but Miike is telling a genuinely sweet story where everything happens for a reason. The crazy stuff is certainly crazy, but every batshit visual is grounded by something with real weight. When it slows down for the conclusion, it wraps up every idea it has presented, and that's when I realised that I really did care about what was going on. I think the crazier you make something, the more you have to build investment in something, and, although there's a lot going on here, you care enough about these two leads for the story beats to properly register. Under the crazy flourishes is something really substantial, and that's what makes it work
Obviously there's a lot more that I could and want to say about this movie, but I'll leave it at this: it was the perfect first festival movie. First Love is buckets of fun, with the exact kind of surreal humour and crazy plot that I never knew I needed. It's honest and genuine as well as being absolutely batshit insane, and also has some of the best side characters of the year (one gangster in particular is especially hilarious). So yeah, I kind of absolutely love this movie. The exhilaration of the whole thing gave me such a buzz, and the fact that I saw it with a huge crowd just added to the atmosphere. Everyone I saw it with was so into it, and as a viewing experience, it was pretty spectacular. Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I've seen a movie that's coming out next decade, but if this is the standard for 2020, then we're in for an absolute belter of a year. This is pure cult fun, and I'm glad it kicked of my LFF experience.
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