Maiko Haaaan!!! @ the Japanese Film Festival
December 10th 2007 21:38
TV comedian Sadawo Abe helms this manic project as a geisha-obsessed fanboy who'll go to no ends to achieve his goal of playing strip baseball with a room full of geishas.
Written by acclaimed screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, who wrote Go, Ping Pong and Miike's Zebraman, it's total mayhem and lunacy for 2 hours, with Abe screaming and prancing his way through fast-cuts and splashy colours. Is this Japanese comedy? All around me, Japanese people were laughing at things that I didn't get, leading me to suspect that there's a lot of cultural subtlety in the picture.
Here's the nonsensical Japanese trailer:
Not that Maiko Haaaan!!! isn't enjoyable - it's a fantastic production, with high-quality special effects and superb scenes. The geisha houses are beautiful, with minimal decoration, but well-lit, like the interior of a dollhouse.
And the dolls are the geishas, who are so elegantly depicted here that Maiko Haaaan!!! beats the pants off of Memoirs of a Geisha. The traditional garb of a geisha is a little bewildering, with the painted white face and the severe makeup, but such colours, such poise... Abe's character desires to become a geisha regular, but I think he's collecting them in his experience, forming a shelf of geisha-dolls in his memory.
Better than Memoirs, too, Maiko Haaaan!!! gives us a better understanding of Japanese culture, though I'm not sure how much geishas have to do with modern Japanese living. Still, the film is packed with traditional song and dance, making the film a comedy on one obvious level, but a serious study of historical arts beneath the surface.
It's different from anything you've ever seen, and I came away from the movie quite entertained. It's best watched with a crowd of loud, raucous people - mainly because Maiko Haaaan!!! is loud and raucous itself. With plenty of colour, style and wit, coupled with a fantastic big band soundtrack that punctuates every explosion with an exclaimation mark, Maiko Haaaan!!! is a simultaneous shot to the stomach and kiss on the cheek.
I say: A dizzying look at Japanese culture through fast-paced slapstick comedy. A movie to watch loud, with lots of friends, on a big screen, with quickly-imbibed spirits and pizza.
Do you think she's cute? Sweet? Sure, you do. Did you know she was also the cold-hearted Mitsuko in Battle Royale? You know which one. Not so cute, now, eh?
Also, Maiko Haaaan!!! excels at making Japan look fun. The food, the drinks, the strip baseball... it all looks like a righteously good time! Let's go!
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