Having problems with message search?
MOVIE REVIEW | 'LATE BLOOMER'
Death and Disability
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
New York Times, Published: July 25, 2008
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/movies/25bloo.html?ref=movies
Certain to inspire worship in some quarters and walkouts in others, "Late
Bloomer" turns prejudice on its head and adds to a rarefied subgenre: the
disabled-serial-killer movie.
Our singular protagonist is Sumida (an astonishing performance by the
severely disabled actor Masakiyo Sumida), a perpetually randy drunk who
enjoys pornography, punk-rock concerts and rolling around town in his
motorized wheelchair. But when he falls for a fetching college student (Mari
Torii), her thoughtless response to his hesitant overtures ("Did you want to
be born normal?") drives him into a funk of fury and impotence that only a
killing spree can assuage.
Startlingly humane in its insistence that Sumida is no different from any
other guy - here the able-bodied are the fools, oblivious to his desires and
internal life - "Late Bloomer" unfolds mainly in fizzy black and white and
in a shooting style that mimics the unsettling jerkiness of Sumida's body
movements. Like the splendid Korean film "Oasis" this movie tackles its
uncomfortable subject with the generosity and imagination of a filmmaker (in
this case, Go Shibata) unafraid to confront taboos.
Weird, wicked and wonderfully perverse, "Late Bloomer" pulses with frigid
energy. Watching it is like having your finger trapped in a light socket: no
matter how much it hurts, you can't quite tear yourself away.
LATE BLOOMER
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Written (in Japanese, with English subtitles) and directed by Go Shibata;
director of photography, Masaaki Takakura; edited by Keita Ichikawa, Keisuke
Suzuki and Kazuyoshi Kumakiri; music by World's End Girlfriend; produced by
Toshiki Shima; released by Tidepoint Pictures. At the Two Boots Pioneer
Theater, 155 East Third Street, at Avenue A, East Village. Running time: 1
hour 23 minutes. This film is not rated.
WITH: Masakiyo Sumida (Sumida), Mari Torii (Nobuko), Naozo Horita (Take),
Toshihisa Fukunaga (Fukunaga-san), Sumiko Shirai (Aya) and Ariko Arita
(Oba-chan).
Death and Disability
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
New York Times, Published: July 25, 2008
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/movies/25bloo.html?ref=movies
Certain to inspire worship in some quarters and walkouts in others, "Late
Bloomer" turns prejudice on its head and adds to a rarefied subgenre: the
disabled-serial-killer movie.
Our singular protagonist is Sumida (an astonishing performance by the
severely disabled actor Masakiyo Sumida), a perpetually randy drunk who
enjoys pornography, punk-rock concerts and rolling around town in his
motorized wheelchair. But when he falls for a fetching college student (Mari
Torii), her thoughtless response to his hesitant overtures ("Did you want to
be born normal?") drives him into a funk of fury and impotence that only a
killing spree can assuage.
Startlingly humane in its insistence that Sumida is no different from any
other guy - here the able-bodied are the fools, oblivious to his desires and
internal life - "Late Bloomer" unfolds mainly in fizzy black and white and
in a shooting style that mimics the unsettling jerkiness of Sumida's body
movements. Like the splendid Korean film "Oasis" this movie tackles its
uncomfortable subject with the generosity and imagination of a filmmaker (in
this case, Go Shibata) unafraid to confront taboos.
Weird, wicked and wonderfully perverse, "Late Bloomer" pulses with frigid
energy. Watching it is like having your finger trapped in a light socket: no
matter how much it hurts, you can't quite tear yourself away.
LATE BLOOMER
Opens on Friday in Manhattan.
Written (in Japanese, with English subtitles) and directed by Go Shibata;
director of photography, Masaaki Takakura; edited by Keita Ichikawa, Keisuke
Suzuki and Kazuyoshi Kumakiri; music by World's End Girlfriend; produced by
Toshiki Shima; released by Tidepoint Pictures. At the Two Boots Pioneer
Theater, 155 East Third Street, at Avenue A, East Village. Running time: 1
hour 23 minutes. This film is not rated.
WITH: Masakiyo Sumida (Sumida), Mari Torii (Nobuko), Naozo Horita (Take),
Toshihisa Fukunaga (Fukunaga-san), Sumiko Shirai (Aya) and Ariko Arita
(Oba-chan).
| ||||||||||||||
Offline 
Send Email