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Screwed AKA Neji-shiki (1998)
R0 - America - Panik House Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (25th October 2006). |
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The Film
 I´m not very familiar with the Japanese Manga comics, but I have learned to respect the very productive and imaginative - and strange - side of Japanese popular culture. Entertainment in its various forms is a huge part of Japan now, but for many in the western world it´s not always that easy to understand or relate to - mainly when we talk about Manga, Anime, and non-mainstream films. “Screwed AKA Neji-shiki (1998)” is a film adaptation by the acclaimed cult icon of Japanese Manga, Yoshiharu Tsuge, and his 1968 written comic “Neji-shiki (Screw Style/ Wind-Up Type)”. The story was influenced by a dream that he once had, and the comic apparently was a sort of ground-breaking release back then in Japan, starting his “Dream Stories” series. The film tells about the struggling Manga artist Tsube (Tadanobu Asano - from e.g. “Ichi The Killer AKA Koroshiya 1 (2001)” and “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi AKA Zatôichi (2003)”), whose life is a mixture of frustration, bad relationships, poorness, and if you sum them all up; loneliness and isolation. His girlfriend (not sure if that´s the right word) Kuniko (Miki Fujitani) doesn´t really want to get very intimate with Tsube, and seems to be cheating on him. When they have no money to pay the rent at the beginning of the film, they´re forced to leave the apartment, and Tsube ends up sharing the room with his old friend Mr. Kimoto (Kazuhiko Kanayama), a positive personality with weird dreams. Kuniko has found a job quickly, but Tsube continues his journey with no money and low self-esteem. His doomed affair with Kuniko finally ends when Tsube takes the overdose of sleeping pills, waking up in the hospital - thanks to his friend. When he´s kicked out from the hospital also (since he has no money), it´s time to move on. Tsube will find himself in the rural mountains, where he meets the young girl named Chiyoji Kobayashi (Tsugumi). Through the girl the film moves more to the surreal territory (not meaning that it hasn´t been there before that), introducing some sexuality and seductive women, and Tsube comforting his frustrations, fantasies and dreams. All is guided by the music from the composer Kenichi Segawa, who has created a strange fusion of industrial-ambient-electronic-guitar themes, perfect for the film and its mood. If Yoshiharu Tsuge is the cult figure in Manga, director/producer/co-writer Teruo Ishii is the same in Japanese films. Probably not very known to the mainstream audience, but for the fans of Japanese exploitation and e.g. Yakuza-movies (and many others, since Ishii directed over 80 movies from 1957 to 2001), he´s a well regarded and unique filmmaker. “Screwed” is quite an experimental film when it comes to its visual world, and also storytelling, when you think of it. It´s most likely a quite low budget production, and even when the story is actually relatively straight forward - following a tormented man in his search for his inner demons and finding the escape (if any) from his loneliness and problems that are surrounding him, the film is not very conventional, nor easy to swallow. It´s very dreamlike, sometimes making you wonder what is real and what is actually some kind of hallucination or flashback of the main character, and it´s a bit like another universe where Tsube is taking a journey. Sexuality is strongly present as the film progresses (you can see the hints already in the wild “opening performance”) and all the women that Tsube meets seem to have some hidden sexual frustrations and secrets. I still have to add that the film is not very graphic or “nasty”, like certain other films from the Japanese low budget cinema can be, but some naked bodies and a few more twisted and psychedelic scenes are included. What makes the film quite unique is the way that it portrays humour. It´s of course quite black and odd, but I felt that the film was a “satire” of some kind. This is probably where the Manga-aspects come to play also, since the film moves a bit like a comic story, using similar structure and character (and the voice-over thoughts from Tsube). “Screwed” is like an odd comic book alive - and where you need to use your imagination to fill the gaps in the story and different scenes, leaving many doors open for different interpretations. In a wider sense, nothing that much is actually happening in the film and it´s like Tsube´s journey could last forever. At least for me, there wasn´t an ending that could “explain” everything or where Tsube would finally find his peace of mind - the solution to his problems. Or was there? This could just depend on the viewer…
Video
The transfer is presented in Anamorphic 1.78:1, and due to the various artistic choices it doesn´t look pristine in the sense that most people are used to. The film is probably shot through different filters or similar, which shows as overall softness and unusual colour schemes - mainly yellowish brown and reddish tones in selected scenes. There is some colour bleeding and dark areas can get “restless” with grain, but the general look is very clean and “Panik House” has done a pretty good job of what I assume is the original, rough look of the film. The “single layer” disc is coded “R0”, and the film runs 85:09 minutes (NTSC). There are 18 chapters.
Audio
The film includes one audio track, which is Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, and optional English and Spanish subtitles are included. Due to the low budget nature, the sound is not impressive and sounds a bit low, but you don´t have any real issues with hiss and distortion. It seems that the dialogue is dubbed in post-production, but it fits quite well for the general mood of the film. With “Pro Logic”, you don´t get much surround-activity (some echo on the rears, though), and the track is quite monaural.
Extras
Firstly, bilingual Menus are included, so depending on the choice, the film and the extras have optional English or Spanish subtitles (you can choose them from the remote also). The disc is not packed with extras, but we get some basic stuff: -Trailers-section includes one for the film (1:37 min), along with “Blind Beast vs. Dwarf AKA Môjû tai Issunbôshi (2001)” (2:19 min) and “Tokyo Psycho AKA Tôkyô densetsu: ugomeku machi no kyôki (2004)” (2:25 min). -Poster and still galleries includes “poster & promotional art” (4 photos) and “production stills” (33 photos). The latter seems to be mainly taken from the film, but I´m not fully sure. -Production notes is a bit disappointing: 4 screens, including mainly promotional text for the film and DVD-release. Some history of the film would´ve been better. -Cast & crew biographies and filmographies includes interesting text biographies (with selected filmography) for director/producer/co-writer Teruo Ishii, the lead actor Tadanobu Asano, and co-writer/Manga artist Yoshiharu Tsuge. -If you move on to the DVD-ROM side of the disc, there is a 27-page Virtual Comic Book included in downloadable .pdf format, for both PC and Mac. This comic book is a combination of stills from the film, along with the original Yoshiharu Tsuge´s illustrated panels of “Neji-shiki”-manga. These are not translated before (the comic is in English only). -Keep case also includes the Collector's Sticker (picture taken from the cover art), and the initial print run of 7500 comes in special Red Foil package (meaning the cover, Keep case is the same).
Overall
“Screwed” is a film definitely not for everyone, but I pretty much enjoyed it and find it intriguing. It´s strange and unconventional, but at the same you most likely will be drawn to it and take that journey with Tsube - for better or worse. DVD-presentation by “Panik House” is solid, and probably does full justice to the original look of the film. For more info, please visit the homepage of Panik House Entertainment.
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