A brilliant mise en abyme ... This is what proposes Do not cut! feature film by Japanese director Shinichiro Ueda presented in official competition at the festival of contemporary Japanese cinema, Kinotayo 2019 and whose release in theaters is scheduled for March 27, 2019.
A film presented as part of this festival part of Japonismes 2018, cultural season celebrating the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Japan, but also the 150th anniversary of the Meiji era. In France, the film is presented to the audience for the very first time at the Maison de la Culture du Japon and the Club de l'Etoile from January 17, 2019 on the occasion of the festival.
A real little cinematographic UFO that is a hit in the Land of the Rising Sun, and yet starts from very far: a small budget, only 25,000 euros, and volunteer actors, students of the Enbu Seminar drama school in Tokyo. But the result in theaters speaks for itself: 15 million dollars at the Japanese box office alone, and the film continues to expand its distribution worldwide.
Synopsis:
A film crew goes to an abandoned World War II warehouse to shoot a low-budget zombie movie. Everything goes wrong when they run into real zombies. Beginning with a 37-minute sequence shot, Don't Cut! is the best zombie comedy since Shaun of the Dead. Shot for a pittance, the film has become a Japanese box office phenomenon.
Review:
Shinichiro Ueda offers here a feature film of genius by its structure, interweaving different mise en abyme around the shooting of a zombie movie for an unexpected and extremely funny result. What seems to be a horrific short film, presented in sequence in the first part of the film, is transformed, by adding the images of the backstage, into a hilarious farce showing all the talent of the director.
Special mention to the actors, very accurate in their interpretation, and who manage to instill in a very natural way this humor so characteristic of Japanese cinema, playing on the situation comedy and misunderstandings. And the icing on the cake, the filming of the real backstage of the film in the end credits, which adds an additional mise en abîme to the whole. A feature film to go see urgently!
Trailer:
