[Weekly Update] A Japanese Movie about Poop

Not a whole lot of update this week, so I'll keep things short!

CHANNEL UPDATE

I'm currently editing our October video, which will be about Junji Ito, including the new Uzumaki Anime. As the anime is currently being released one episode per week, I'll have to wait a few weeks before I have enough materials to edit the video. That's why the video will have to wait just a little bit longer.

I'd love to include all of the episodes in our video. Unfortunately, I'll be heading to Hong Kong later this month, and won't be able to edit while I'm away. So I'll just wait for two episodes and release the video with manga images. That way, we can also capitalize on the series' popularity.

We also now have a rough draft for our Yakuza video. Hopefully I can get that done next week.

For November, we have the first part of our Journey to the West adaptation video. And for the second video, I'm planning on doing a Wong Kar-wai movie location tour. At least, that's the concept of a plan. Most Wong Kar-wai movies aren't set in Hong Kong proper, so I may not have enough materials to make it work. If I can't come up with a script, I'll just move on to the second part of Journey to the West.

MEDIA TALK

Sometimes you just have to admire the bold approach to cinema in Japan. It seems like the country and the industry makes films truly as an art first and a commercial product second. Ideas get turn into full feature with no regard to marketability. Films created simply because the artist behind it has a story to tell.

What I'm saying is... I watched Okiku and the World.

If you haven't heard of it, it is one of the more talked about films from Japan since last year. Set in the 19th century, this comedy drama centres around the story of a poop collector, and his life with a girl named Okiku.

Yes, poop collector. That was before plumbing was a thing. Back then, waste workers would dig up poop and other human wastes from outhouses, and ferment them into fertilizers and sell them for a profit.

The film shows you all of the handling in glorious close-ups. At least the movie has the decency to be in (mostly) black and white. But it is certainly takes guts of steel to watch it without being physically repulsed.

Yet, I can't look away from the film. Before you say anything, no, I don't have a kink. It's just that the film has this strange enchanting atmosphere. The mundane day to day life on screen, featuring the lowest of society, is a topic rarely seen on screen or anywhere else. You can tell the production did a lot of research and went through a lot to recreate the time period. I mean... the poop is unreasonably realistic, too.

At the bottom of this world, literally overflowing with human wastes, the film managed to craft a simple yet moving romance between the two protagonists. The deliberate contrast of poop and love is certainly comedic. But the emotion of the romance is also amplified through this contrast. To be in love with a poop handler, what a set-up.

I can't go into more details without spoiling the story, and I do wish to give you a chance to experience the film, so I'll stop right here. Just remember to watch this a few hours after you ate. Brace yourself, and stop the movie at any time. Again, it's not for everyone, but if you managed to swim through it, you'll find a very special movie. And you'll also feel like Dufresne at the end of Shawshank Redemption.

A bit of a shorter update this week, hope you don't mind. No video this week, so I'll see you in our next update. In the meantime, it's spooky season. Give Junji Ito a read, and I'll see you soon with a new video.