Angel Guts : Red Dizziness (aka Red Vertigo). R1 USA DVD Review.
The first of three reviews of "Angel Guts" films. Only these were available in subtitles form at the beginning of November 04 when this writing was done. In All, five films will be in the boxset from Artsmagic, to be released late March 2005. These reviews may reappear nearer to that time, but for now they go up simply because so many others have already allowed Artsmagic access to them online for promotional uses.
An odd choice to start the boxset (if the running order remains), as its the final film in the series to be produced by Nikkatsu. However, since it is the first from the creator of "Angel Guts" in terms of direction, Takashi Ishii, it is a perfectly logical one. His may be the most faithful to the original ideas behind the characters.
Released in 1998, a whole decade after the first film, it's a testiment to the quality of the work on display that such a series can be prolonged over a huge length of time. It's also worth remembering sequels in Japan aren't as obviously interlinked as their American counterparts, and exist more as independant movies with sometimes tenuous links, but more often connected by theme. Potentially the films can be watched so independantly that each one success relied more on its' own qualities as much if not more so than its' connection to the series. Each also has a feel of being a product of its time as much as the ideas of the Director or Writer.
In this film, Nami is a nurse. She seems to be burning the candle at both ends; she helps her photographer boyfriend develop film and produce prints of his erotic photography and she carries out her own daily duties too. The title "Red Dizziness" (or "Red Vertigo" as it is sometimes known or translated) seems to allude to the effect her lack of proper sleep has on her ability to make clear decisions about her actions, and to her mental state as a result of the various extreme situations she is bounced around during the film.
Ishii is clearly very intimately familiar with his script and characters. He is also well aware of the conventions of not only Manga, but film (in particular how Japanese film differs from American film). He utilises our preconceptions about film to great effect, as he makes apparently major characters impact on the story strong yet brief, and other seemingly unimportant characters appearances more prolonged. His talent for turning things on their head is very strong and appealing, helping him create fantastic narratives with an underlying depth of reality.
Although Nami is hardworking and devoted, she finds herself in massively negative situations which she battles to survive - all of the negatives relate directly to sexual relationship in their various guises. The sex is contextualised heavily, and becomes part of the relationships between the major characters. It's a shame if you focus too much on that element of the stories : it's not exploitative as many would either percieve or hope, but a natural integral part of the story, used as a draw for audiences but offering much more. The sex is the culmination of the relationship, and not simply sex isolated as a form of entertainment. Sections of the film are handed over the sexual activity, yet they aren't the primary interest on offer.
Locations are secondary for large sections of the film, then integral to the strong and potentially irresponsible or dangerous fantasy world they veer into. Dark, nasty locations become the beginning point for heavily positive events, and the familiar homely locations (her flat, her work) become the scene of the briefest and most uncomfortable of her experiences. Romantically the story is off-the-wall, intense and sentimental to some extent : intially it may perplex, but ultimately it's the films most moving moments that come out of the oddest decisions being made. Nami may be "Dizzy" from her day, but not only does it lead her into negative situations, but also positive ones. The major lesson in the film is to "keep going"; you never know what may happen next.
I loved the way in which so much of what i expected to happen shifted in opposite directions. The element of surprise and trickery on display was heavy given the small scale of such films, and the few characters involved. It's a small, intense, and totally surreal experience. The visuals may be largely static and heavily framed, and they are almost as apaprently basic as the panels in a Manga page. It's a shame that Anime, Manga and Cinema fans don't often realise, notice or appreciate the heavy interlinking relationship between the different mediums : there are many of these links on show here.
The Manga influence allows for a relatively brief story to be told in all its' detail and individuality. To regard the sexual content as it's major attraction would be doing it a disservice, and it's clearly an opportunity to explore someone elses reality, their life and it's consequences in a fantastical yet strangely believable manner. I also found myself questioning my understanding of what film should and could contain, how it can be approached by the director and all others involved.
Sure, i have watched hundreds of Japanese films. Having said that, I am constantly learning about film when i watch something Japanese. Don't forget, this is the directors first feature and he is capable of making you question film in such an impressive way, and also the nature of intimate human relationships. Clearly, given the scale of such films, it wouldn't be as difficult a film to put together as many, yet it is undeniably impressive to see such confidence in the storytelling. Its overall aim is achieved and goes beyond the subject matter often considered for film.
Music and sound effects are minimal and overdubbed in a dramatic way. The repetative licking, slurping, sucking, and slapping of people and the electronic music add to the atmosphere. Locations being used in either an overly prolonged or immensely brief manner add to the disorientation and intensity, and the use of heart-felt dialogue catches you out in moments that you would expect characters to completely lose all ability to cope.
Ultimately Nami is the strong woman Ishii intends to portray. She is the "victim" of manipulative men who try to get the better of her.
Intimacy is refreshingly enjoyable compared to the contrived larger scale (as a form of dramatic approach) as utilised in Hollywood. It's not intended to titilate or be typically pornographic in its' approach, but to include sex as a part of a much larger and more intimate picture.
Our major personal experience of drama in our lives is within the bounds of our intimate relationships with other people, even when a part of a larger scale story, and this gives us the chance to explore this territory in an original way. It's a shame we have to venture into what is often negatively termed "exploitation" in order to truly experience reality. There was little negative in this film that wasn't truly understandable given the constraints being worked within. Ishii may well find matching his mental picture to the final production difficult, but it is largely successful and undeniably fascinating.
