SAKURAN - Review

So, I've decided that seeing as I am a film student, and love films...I should start writing film reviews! Besides, I have't updated this blog in quite a while, so sod it, I'm gonna be writing movie reviews! This is the first of (possibly not so) many of them.

First review is a Japanese film I've just finished watching called Sakuran, directed by (first time director and a photographer) Mika Ninagawa and starring Anna Tsuchiya in the lead role. It's the story of a girl growing up who goes through many names in a whore house and her rise as an Oiran.

The film is based off the manga series of the same name, created by Moyoco Anno.

Straight from the very first scene, it's clear the director is indeed a photographer, the film never ceases to amaze with it's wonderful colours and cinematographer and beautifully framed shots. There are times when you watch the film and forget what you're watching and just enjoy the colours. This is a great thing about the film, and also what stops it from being anything but average.

When you get passed how wonderful the film looks, the story itself doesn't offer anything but cheap frills and a lot of breasts and naked women. You don't really feel the need to sympathise with the actors or actress' when the dramatic tension rises because you're too busy looking at the smaller details of the cinematography. I never thought I'd say it, but the colours do get distracting. It's just like watching Curse of the Golden Flower all over again.

But that's not to say that the actual acting is bad, on the contrary, the acting is pretty great, Especially Tsuchiya. She plays the role wonderfully and carries the film on her own. The clients she meets and the men she starts to fall for just pass through the frames, but most of the time it doesn't really matter as Tsuchiya does well enough to keep the narrative going. She is also the selling point as well as the cinematography.

The pacing of the film is somewhat uneven at times, and the final act of the film does fall flat, considering how it does end (which I won't spoil, should you wish to seek out the film). It starts off well, and then leads onto a flashback of how Tsuchiya's character is sold into the house, but after that 10 minute flashback, it leaves it there, and we don't know how she started her training or the bumps along the way. Which is fine, as the film runs just under 2 hours, which is a decent enough pace. I haven't read the manga itself, so I'm assuming it's all in there.

A lot of people may want to compare this film to Memoirs of a Geisha, which is a fine comparison, but I have to admit, I do prefer Sakuran over it. One of the reasons being that Memoirs was directed by an American team with a Chinese actress in the lead role of a Japanese character (although, Ziyi Zhang is one of my favourite actress'), so it just felt like a quick cash-in with some big name drops. Sakuran has a great sound track (it's not 'traditional' in the sense that fits in with the period it's set in - see Marie Antoinette if you want an idea), the cinematography is better than Memoirs and the setting is great as it's set mainly in one location, but you never get bored.

All in all, it's a good film to watch if you're a fan of those sort of films, if you're a budding cinematographer, seek it out as you'll learn quite a bit from it. It's also a film for those Japanese cinema fans, or world cinema in general. But for the general audience, you could find something better.

Pros:

• Cinematography is great
• Acting from Tsuchiya is top notch
• Lovely soundtrack

Cons:

• Feels like there's more story than there is
• The final act falls flat
• Bright colours can be a little distracting.