|
|||||
|
|||||
|
 |
Henry's Cat purruses the latest collection of the best and brightest new promo videos. Directors Masashi Muto, Nozomu Shimogiri/Takahiro Narita, Masato Okada, Suguru Takeuchi, Keiji Ito/David Duval-Smith, Taku Inoue, Tetsuro Takeuchi, Manabu Asahina (Rhizome), Hideyuki Tanaka, Naohiro Ukawa, Masaaki Uchino, Junji Kojima, Yasunori Ikunishi/Yasunori Kakegawa, Tomioka Satoshi When you think about Japanese video art, several images spring to the fore; Anime, Manga, and a penchant for the peculiar. These music videos are the offspring of that culture, Western influences and a technological savvy that make them the oddest promos out there. As with all of the Mirrorball presentations, we are shown a barrage of new film, attempting to give an idea of the state of the art, right now. Made In Japan makes me think that their industry is exploding with talent and ideas, but is in need of more cash. A lot of the films look as though they are only roughly finished. The best parts are the Justice Runners animation by Mirrorball veteran Tomioka Satoshi, a fantastical weird tram ride rendered in 3D, and Hideyuki Tanaka's surreal presentation of Shingo Mama, like the crazed fusion of children's morning TV and transvestitism - think Timmy Mallet, but weirder. Also present are a number of downright stinkers, mainly thrash hip-hop bands that look like home grown versions of American rap acts, and hence include many of the same clichés, creating somewhat tedious videos. It is unfortunate that these promos are not nearly as good as those offered in the Fabrique En France and New Work Mirrorball shows. Last year the Japanese offerings were some of the best and the most original. |
 |
|
|
INSIDE IOFILM
|
 |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|