Le petit garçon

Can I call this film dreamy? I don't know if it's wrong to call this film dreamy. Maybe I watched it late at night, at a time when I should've been dreaming. But I don't know... the atmosphere struck me as strange, the use of colour was unpredictable, the whole movie seemed to glide right past me, and there was something unsettling about how it felt.

The story is also a little intense. Maybe more so nightmarish or fever dreamish than normal dreamy. It's about a family who fake motor accidents - as pedestrians - to extort money from drivers. They have their kids involved, and then that leads to extra drama. Things don't play out as expected. Some things never happen, and some happen very quickly. Its arthouse in the "unpredictable structure" sense, but not in the "we're going to be boring and/or pretentious sense," because this film moved well overall.

Nagisa Oshima was a strange but always interesting director. I don't know if I've disliked anything he's done, and films like Death by Hanging and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence both his me pretty hard. Boy's another solid entry into his filmography, so it seems.

This movie dramatizes the real-life adventures of a roving family of con artists who faked traffic accidents to extort money from unwitting victims all over Japan. It offers a tension-filled psychological study of depraved, sociopathic parents exploiting each other and their 10-year-old son for easy money. The acting is remarkably good, particularly on the part of the boy who takes up the family trade with a mixture of gusto and reluctance.

The cinematography is wonderful -- many shots are taken at a distance from the subjects, often through half-open doors, semi-closed blinds and other obstructions. The camera work reinforces the message, subliminally, that these are dangerous people living on the margins of society, and it is best to watch their antics at a safe distance. The film editing is excellent, particularly in the scenes where traffic mishaps are being plotted and executed by the family.

My only quibble is that the film does at times have a mannered, contrived quality. For example, it abruptly switches from color to black and white and back again to color. At times, as when the black and white footage is quite overexposed, the effect is constructive and adds to the strained atmosphere; at other times, though, you feel a little whipsawed to little purpose.

This film is as worthwhile as it is off the beaten track. Anyone with an interest in Japanese cinema or aberrant families would do well to see it.

'Boy' is, below the surface, a scathing commentary on post-war Japan. The country has been consumed by greed and has taken Western ideals to its hilt. The parents exploiting their son for money strikes into the heart a family that is so far away from the respect and courtesy of old Japanese values.

As a contradiction, Oshima rejects the classical repertoire of Ozu or Mizoguchi and creates a radical language much more to his own invention. The soundtrack unsettles, the camera movement is slow and anxious ridden and the characters push against any sort of likability. The fact that a small boy is the most morally conscious out of a cast of adult characters is especially telling. Also used are still images and colour filters, almost a surefire way to portray the inner thoughts of a young boy who can't adequately express himself. The widescreen filming allows for much detail in the scenes, a rush of intricacies flood each shot. Exquisite to look at but also plenty to think about.

Oshima is usually volatile in his ideas and this leads him to be a not very consistent filmmaker but when his ideas align themselves like this, there are very few who could direct better.

Based on true events, a family of struggling con-artists drift across Japan faking car-pedestrian accidents and then convincing the drivers to settle out of court. When the mother (Akiko Koyama) discovers that she is pregnant and is no longer is willing to take the risk of stepping into the path of a moving vehicle, Toshio (Tetsuo Abe) her 10-year-old step-son takes on the role of 'victim'. Sad, bleak and oddly structured (notably the ending), the film features lovely cinematography and an excellent cast (note: watched on TCM with English subtitles), especially Abe as the stoic youngster who attempts to run away, both literally, by taking the train as far as his resources allow, and in his imagination, a pretend- world in which he and his little brother are searching for aliens. I don't know how much of this tale of an abusive, dysfunctional is factual, but I found the story compelling and was impressed by the nuanced treatment of the parents, who are immoral, manipulative fraudsters but who at times seem to actually care about their son, despite being willing to constantly expose him to danger. The boy's acceptance of doing 'jobs' despite his increasingly damaged body to 'support' his family is both touching and chilling.

Have you ever seen a film you know is well made but also is painful and unpleasant to watch? Well, if you, try watching "Boy" ("Shônen") from director Nagisa Ôshima. It's not the least bit enjoyable to watch, though I admire the quality of the production.

While I didn't know it when I watched the film, "Boy" is apparently based on a true story about some horrible people. It focuses on a young boy (about age 10) and his pathetic life. His father is a lazy, violent jerk. His step-mother is very, very dependent and puts up with the violence. But worse, she 'works' to earn money for the family--money earned by faking accidents by walking in front of cars and then shaking down the drivers for quick settlements. Eventually, these lovely parents get the boy into the act--and he soon becomes bumped and bruised all over because of these falls. To avoid detection, they move about Japan like nomads. To cope with all this, the boy has an active fantasy life but he also seems very depressed and lost.

As you noticed above, the plot is pretty awful. But, the film is made in a manner that seems quite real and pulls the viewer in to the sad tale. However, you really DON'T connect with the people in the film--perhaps a weakness of the movie. Well made but awful.