New: The Wolverine (2013)

The Wolverine (2013)

Director: James Mangold

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima

There is no doubt about it The Wolverine feels somewhat like a breath of fresh air amidst the blizzard of exploding buildings and planes and crashing and banging which has been a feature of the summer blockbuster season of 2013. Director James Mangold offers up the years more mature entry into the bottlenecking pantheon of modern day superhero movies, rich in thematic substance and decorated with a “more is less” approach to its action sequences Mangold shows what can be done with a smaller budget and a willingness to invest in time tested film making conventions and attention to detail.

Returning Hugh Jackman produces arguably his most polished performance as the gruff and embattled mutant, banishing the wretched stink of X-Men Origins before it. Jackman embodies two separate characteristics, when duty calls and wrongs need righting he is the hack and slash indestructible hero Wolverine. The flipside to the Wolverines rugged coin is Logan, a tortured soul bearing a gift of near immortality that is a curse, whose dreams serve only to haunt him and his good deeds return to punish him. Logan with all of his baggage is summoned to Japan to the deathbed of an old friend but soon discovers that there is something more sinister afoot.

The Japanese setting is a key contributor to the Wolverines success as such the film infers and speaks of the complexities of Eastern Cultures, the mesh of grounded traditional values entwined with the endless possibilities of science and technology. Themes of mortality and the near morbid relationship East Asia has with death and notions of mortality are established early on as we witness grizzly acts of Hara Kari, Mangold then refines this into reoccurring motifs and plot strands which drive the narrative. Yashida the aforementioned aged old pal reduced to his death bed is not ready to let go of life and embrace his end, whilst mutant Yukio has a similar cross bear in that she can foresee the deaths of others.

The Pan-Asian tone also filters through into the cinematography taking on the look of an authentically Eastern picture, even the set pieces such as a blistering foot race and battle through a crowded downtown Tokyo has respectful and proximal qualities. In much the way Nolan’s Dark Knight skilfully placed a comic book villain in the world of a gritty crime thriller Mangold’s work here is of a similar essence with Logan embroiled in the world of Yakuza, Ninja and some explosive family dynamics which make for his best big screen outing to date.

8/10

Top Five Japanese Films

Ran (1985)

Master Japanese Film Maker Akira Kurosawa’s take on Shakespeare’s King Lear is a stunning and epic Japanese period piece which tells the story of a power struggle between three sons as their aging Warlord father decides to abdicate rule of his empire. What ensues is a tale of betrayal, treachery and revenge as the family unravels as we watch on helplessly.

Memories of Matsuko (2006)

When Shou learns of his estranged Aunts death and is subsequently asked to clear out her apartment, he begins a journey back in time through fragments of memories to discover the way she lived and how she died. The result is a most unforgettable film made of part musical, comedic and tragic components amounting to something of a cinematic obituary. 

Departures (2008)

Departures as with many Japanese films concerns itself with mortality, however what makes this unique is its exploration of the vocational properties of death. A classical trained Cellist through unemployment unwittingly lands work as an undertaker, but his new career carries little honour and plenty of stigma in the eyes of his family as well as his own self imposed reservations. Winner of a Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Tekkonkinkreet (2006)

Tekkonkinkreet certainly possesses many qualities regularly found in the superhero genre. Two homeless young orphans with special abilities look to traverse the line between law and order with that of the criminal underworld to protect their city (name Treasure Town) from a new nefarious force which threatens to destroy it. Street violence is presented through the pseudo infantilised imaginations of our young subjects which manifests in the surrealist nature of the animation and the world they operate within.


Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)

A heartbreaking story of how innocence is both lost and found in the doldrums of war and the fight for survival during World War 2. Infant Child Setsuko becomes dependent on her 14 year old brother Seito as their family is separated during a series of Air Raids. The pairs initial sanctuary with relatives turns hostile and the two are soon homeless, this leaves Seito with little choice than to steal and loot in order to provide sustenance for Setsuko’s ever increasing state of vulnerability. Grave if the Firefiles is a moving venture into the siblings unconditional love for each other right to the bitter end of the war.