MovieChat Forums > Naisu no mori: The First Contact (2005) Discussion > This movie really tested my patience....

This movie really tested my patience....

posted 17 years ago by Khana001
11 replies | jump to latest

THE WHOLE MOVIE FRICKEN PISSED ME OFF!!
A big turn around from "Taste of Tea" [Which I absolutely loved!]

Funky Forest was just so effing *beep* up. It's good to open your mind to new things but, COME ON!!! Jeez, This movie was so damn RANDOM coming up with "out of the left field" material, and usually that kind of comedy is funny, but they were just horrible at it.

The director and producer of the film came to do a Q&A after the film at the 2005 HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. The theatre was PACKED because there was a lot of hype and everybody loved "a Taste of Tea". About three quarters of the audience had left before the movie ended. Only twelve people were left for the Q&A. Me being one of the twelve, stayed for the whole movie and the Q&A because I had no where to go. Only one idiot shouted out, "That movie was so ingenious! I loved it!!!! How much money did it take to make?" they replied throught their translator,"It took us 11,800,000 yen to do it [around $100,000 in American dollars]". A tall caucasian man rolled his eyes as he left the auditorium with his angry wife. I could see that the director was discouraged and anxious. I felt bad for them.

This movie basically sucked. The Director and Producer played around with the audience for their own pleasure, giving themselves the last laugh. I got especially irritated when there were a group of dancers in yellow plastic suits, doing a corny dance routine for the longest time. I also hated it when there was a timer clock in the middle of an empty white screen that counted down from 3 minutes. I felt so raped of my time and mind for watching this NONSENSE.

[–] heidavey 17 years ago

Shame you didn't like it. I loved it and can't wait to see it again.

[–] tasha_reid 17 years ago

Sorry you didn't like it too. I thought the film was REALLY great, but I do view it as too "Japanese" for most Western audiences. I think my appreciation of the film comes mainly due to me living in Japan for as long I've been here, and watching alot of Japanese television, being in a working environment constantly interacting with Japanese people, and going to social outings with Japanese people on a regular basis. So many moments of this film are lifted from the "little things" that come out of those moments. Alot of those moments come from times as minor as casual conversations. And in case you're wondering, YES it's much more Japanese than Cha no Aji and the director's other works were, so it's easy to see why you would enjoy those films (Cha no aji easily being his most accessible film to the West), and not really enjoy this one at all. So, with that in mind, I'm not surprised, per se, that you didn't like it.

Anyway, more power to ya, and I hope your next venture to seeing a Japanese film is something a bit less, well...Japanese.

[–] Khana001 17 years ago

awww. you guys nice. you respect my differences in opinion. i see real mature adults. me take second look at film.

[–] bistromathics 17 years ago

haha really...i saw your post and started scrolling down expecting an imdb-flame-fest. nice to see some maturity on this site for once

[–] interstella5555 17 years ago

i tried watching this movie, and i seriously couldn't finish it. i just can't take it. i don't know exactly what it is. but i watched the first 45 minutes and turned it off. i don't think i'll ever finish it.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] lpd42 16 years ago

I have read many reviews, both positive and negative of this film, and can't wait to see it. Those who like it give descriptions and comparisons so varied that they could be describing completely different movies. As a fan of anything extremely surreal to the point of being difficult, searching for the closest thing to a filmed dream, this sounds like the Holy Grail of cinema for me!

[–] largu 16 years ago

I adore "Taste of tea" and, well... Funky forest wasn't "taste of tea", that's for sure. It might not even be my cup of tea, but I don't think it's because it is too Japanese (having seen lots of Asian movies). I regard "Funky forest" as a new movement in cinema (kind of). Call it stream of conscience or utter nonsense but something is going on over there. Takeshi Kitano is doing the same thing with his movies.

So, "Funky forest" didn't really work on me but if this means that producers are working more in a free-form kind of way then the future might be truly interesting indeed.

Maybe it's Japanese because no other country would have wasted money on such a weird and utterly doomed project. If that's so, then hooray for Japan.

[–] phreak-11 14 years ago

It is japanese because of the things that you can't expierence through japanese movies.
I myself have lived there for a time of my life, and I felt the need to explain SO MUCH about the movie to my friends when we were watching it here.
For example, those comedy show parts in-between, there's so many comedy acts in japan that work exactly like that, so it's not as weird and nonsensical when you're used to that.
Or the disparity between what you show on your outside and what you feel on your inside, displayed often enough in the movie with scenes such as the two guys (one in the yellow fur outfit) after one of them hits the other in the face by accident. Or the scene when the teacher apologizes to the medical staff. The list goes on and on. It seemed to me they were letting the characters dig as deep as necessary for the other person to bring out what they were actually thinking. That is so typical everyday japanese.

[–] nsfgodlewski 13 years ago

Didn't Pero directed this movie?

Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[–] zachanscom 12 years ago

one thing that really annoys me about these movies is that there's always a bunch of idiots who come here expecting people to like it. i don't mind if people like it, and i somewhat enjoyed it too, but to expect the artistic or comedic value to be self evident is ridiculous. the expected reaction should be annoyance and boredom.