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Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
by Animeigo
| List Price: |
$24.98 |
| Price: |
$22.49 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
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$2.49 (9%) |
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DVD
Koch International
Publisher: Animeigo
Masahito Kaneko
Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
Actors: Renji Ishibashi, Ryo Ishibashi, Masanobu Ando, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kenichi Endo
Inside a juvenile detention center, two young prisoners from vastly different backgrounds experience a bond that transcends their tormented past. As they open their hearts to each other, life around them dissolves between a real world murder mystery, and a surreal journey filled with images of a primitive past and an ambiguous future.
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Prison Pleasantries |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Man, Big Bang Love, Juvenile A is one tough cookie to crack! If you're an admirer of Takashi Miike (pronounced MEE-KAY) and his other surreal works like Gozu, Izo and Box...you're definitely going to "enjoy" this beautiful oddity. Those of you that "fanned up" after Ichi The Killer and Audition may want to tread carefully because Big Bang Love, Juvenile A isn't an easy watch at all. It's homoerotic, German Expressionist cinema mixed with chaotic, religious and scientific symbolism; a neo-noir prison romance.
Would I recommend this film based on the acting and cinematography alone? Absolutely. Overall, Takashi Miike's mis-en-scène is breathtaking and, according to his personal DVD blurb, this is his masterpiece. Who can argue with the man? If he feels this is his masterpiece, so be it. One thing Big Bang Love, Juvenile A is not though...is entertaining. This film is almost completely bereft of any entertainment value, it's art plain and simple and, as we all know, art doesn't always have to entertain to be significant. Personally, I thought this was an amazing film and I'll probably require a few more viewings to grasp some of the imagery present but this will more than likely never leave my home. It's a fascinating film, very personal and far from being a crowd pleaser.
Films that provoke thought or emotional responses are often misunderstood. The topics of gender and love, religion and science, past, present and future and punishment versus rehabilitation are rarely looked upon as entertaining so be aware before renting or purchasing this that it just may not be for you. I'd still recommend giving it a try.
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| A Dark Yaoi Murder Mystery |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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Big Bang Love, Juvenile A is a dark story of mystery that is set in a dark prison in a strange land of pyramids, rainbows, and a rocket ship. The photography is beautiful. The action consists mainly of poses, extreme violence, and interrogation with the occasional tender moment between the two main characters. It was good practice for my Japanese.
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| Not his masterpiece but one of his better films |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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On the cover art for this DVD Takashi Miike declares that "This is my masterpiece." I hate to disagree with him but I think Audition remains his best film. Fortunately that film and this one have a lot in common. They both have brilliant uses of color and odd shot compositions designed to make you uneasy and unsure of your surroundings. This film takes place in an all male prison. Two new inmates are admitted on the same day. Though strangers to each other both men have a lot in common. At some point in their lives they were sexually abused and both men committed violent murders which landed them in jail. One is shy and vulnerable the other tough and aggressive. The more violent of the two finds himself beating up the guards and his cellmates as soon as he arrives. He also acts as protector for his new friend. The two men slowly open up to one another and reveal very little about their past instead choosing to talk about the possibility of getting out of prison and whether they would like to go to heaven or space. The violent man chooses space since heaven would have people in it and it has been his experience that people just depress and disappoint you. There is an attraction between the two men that is hinted at but we never know if they act on that impulse. What sets the plot in motion is when a murder is committed. The violent man lays dead while the shy man is on top of him with his hands around his neck. As the guards pull him off he freely admits that he did it. It would seem like a no brainer since the victim was obviously strangled to death and here is the suspect with his hands still attached to his throat. The mystery deepens since seemingly everyone in the prison had a motive for killing this man. It could have been any one of the dozens of men he beat up or even the warden who has his own painful reason for revenge against the man. An investigation follows which is very entertaining to watch. Miike employs flashbacks to the two men's youth and also the murders that landed them in jail. He shows some scenes up to four times, sometimes from a different angle, but each time revealing a little more in context. Everything is answered in the end but until it is things are a bit confusing. In the excellent bonus features on Disc 2 the actors confess to not understanding the script after they initially read it and still admit some confusion as to what is really going on. There is also an interview with Miike included. This film like other Miike films reminds me of the work of David Lynch, both for their strong and unusual visual style, but mainly for the fact that no matter how hard you try to pay attention and catch every clue it still seems like things aren't adding up. This is a very strong effort from Miike and the DVD has some good bonus features that try to explain some of the meanings of the film.
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| a first for me |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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i've honestly not heard of Takashi Miike, i saw some of the trailers on this that really interested me by him as well. But for Big Bang Love i havent had a movie of this nature really affect me the way this one did. Incorporating violence and so many other aspects and putting it in such a small, enclosed area prison with all kinds of people. Its only natural that all sorts of violence would erupt from this. Something else also comes from it though a love however strange it maybe what ties this two men together. But there bond for each grows throughout the movie and while not long running at 86 minutes.
There is more than enough time for anyone to become attached and even other prisoners arent closed minded about the things that happen. Some see it as a way of getting in better with key officials by "doing" whatever is necessary to make the bleak and dark conditions just a little bit better. In the Big Bang Love grabbed me because it felt real to me and that the people involved were putting their all and every ounce of energy into to making something that get that attention and interest of many. I highly recommend this movie.
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| He has done it again |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Takashi Miike has created a story that is very interesting and provocative. I really enjoyed this movie and I put it up there as another classic for the Japanese director. Another great movie!
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