skeets kelly wrote:i'm kind of baffled by animosity towards a film that most of you haven't seen. is it based on a general distaste for murakami's work?
It's a combination of things.
I'll agree that the distain doesn't need to be that great. After all, it's just a film made with well-meaning intentions and done on personal terms (that at least earns my respect, even if I don't like it ... take Heaven's Gate). Plus I'm worn out by the constant Interwebz sarcasm in general. However, everyone is going to react to art differently. You can't control nor invalidate someone's reactions.
I'll probably buy it in the Barnes and Noble sale because of its price, normally I wouldn't but the vehement response here makes me want to see it. Hopscotch is pretty fun and likable after all.
The film's... not terrible. It's not good but for those thinking it will replace Border Radio as the nadir of the collection, I don't think so. At least, if some sadistic human being forced me to watch either Border Radio or Jellyfish Eyes I would whole heartedly take the latter on an infinite loop before they even finished the sentence, probably when they got to "Jel..." Honestly, there's probably other titles I'd watch this one over any day.
I admittedly had trouble discerning what was actually going on plot wise but I think I get what he was going for, though his "targets" are all over the place, ranging from cell phone use, particularly amongst children, to organized religion to government incompetence, the latter seeming to stem from how the Fukushima disaster was handled. I'm going to go through the features first (which are pretty sparse admittedly) and then probably go back and watch it again because I know I missed some things, more because I didn't know what to expect. I'm sure I also had a disconnect because I feel the film is really tied to the tsunami and nuclear disaster and the feelings in the country after that, which I of course don't have any first hand experience with. But there's one thing which I'm having so much trouble getting around...
It's soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sappy. The children in the movie are damaged in one way or another and these creatures are a sort of outlet for them, so the sentiment in their interactions can be overbearing at times, usually through some cornball montage with horrendous music. I hear people complain about Wes Anderson movies being too twee or cute and I never, ever got that. But if what they feel with those films is even a fraction of what I felt with this one then I think I understand now. I'm not really sure who this film was aimed at, though. I could see kids getting a kick out of it, but I'm not sure how well the film's messages will resonate. My kids liked it, even though I had to read the subtitles (again, I don't understand why an English dub wasn't included), but it's so corny I can't see many adults voluntarily sitting through it. My wife thought it looked absolutely ridiculous and said "Oh. My. God." a few times through what she saw. (Amusingly I think she thought I was watching an Arrow disc, which isn't a knock against Arrow in any way because she knows they lean more towards "cult" stuff, but when she realized I was watching a Criterion disc her response was "why!?")
The creatures looked good, though. The CGI was obvious (particularly in a sort of climactic battle between them, and then some giant slug/Godzilla hybrid that threatens to destroy everything) but they were actually interestingly designed. I guess they were a little too cute, but they had their own personalities. And the film is very colourful, looking great on Blu-ray. Some of the interactions between actors and CGI creatures is a bit rough: There are plenty of moments where the kids don't appear to be interacting correctly with the special effects.
I'm probably a bit perplexed by this one because I was expecting to hate it, but I don't. I guess I'm not entirely sure what to make of it.
I watched the trailer for the second one. It actually looks a little more interesting, and also looks to have a higher budget, so I'm guessing this did fairly well.
I don't know if Criterion removed it but the most liked comment on Criterion's last Facebook post about this film was just someone saying "No," and all the other comments were similarly skeptical
Having been curious bout this thing for months now, I went ahead and picked it up at Barnes and Noble (thank you, Christmas gift card!) and gave it a spin. At the very least I will give it this much: its not the disaster some critics have spun it to be. Is it absurd, occasionally pretentious, constantly child-like and riddled with low-end SFX that wouldn't stand up against mid-90s CGI let alone today's? Absolutely. Is it also the cutest, silliest, funniest slice of WTF-ery I've seen in a long time? Also, yes.
Jellyfish Eyes is nowhere near high art, but I refuse to have one of those "Is it Criterion-worthy?" pissing contests because whatever they want to release, it's no skin off my back. As Chris said, there are several worse films in the collection, most notably the dread Border Radio. Jellyfish Eyes is harmless and actually kind of fun, sometimes in that House-style way where you just marvel at the insanity happening before your eyes. Heck, there were even a few moments where I caught myself thinking "I totally get what he's going for here"*. And when it comes specifically to cutesy/absurd/pretentious child-like films, I'll take Jellyfish Eyes over the god-awful King of the Hill any day.
*My consumption of alcohol may have affected/outright caused this effect.
i'll take a million jellyfish eyes over whit stillman movies about rich kids, if we're arguing about which movies are worthy/unworthy of the criterion collection.
i don't think it's a 100% success, but i do think it's fun. also, watching the featurettes helped me to greater appreciate the finished film.
CSM126 wrote:And when it comes specifically to cutesy/absurd/pretentious child-like films, I'll take Jellyfish Eyes over the god-awful King of the Hill any day.
You had me for awhile, and then you lost me so much I'm pretty sure I'm in a different state now.
Jellyfish Eyes: Too childish for adults, too adult for children?
As a kaiju fan, I kinda got a kick out of the monster in the final sequence, but can't imagine ever sitting through the movie again. In the extras one gets the sense that the production was rushed for deadline. Perhaps with a bit more time, judicious editing, and less attempt to pay tribute to multiple subgenera all at once, this could have been a more enduring film. Still, cute for what that's worth.
