Luke
stu-kicks
CibbuanoBig Man Japan
April 15th 2010 10:55
Big Man Japan is exactly what it sounds like. It's literally about a big man in Japan... he is even referred to as Big Man Japan. You know how Japan always gets attacked by huge monsters in movies like Godzilla and Godzilla Vs. Mecha-Kong or whatever? This movie supposes that Japan has a built-in tradition of 'Big Men' who defend the country from such monsters. Big Man Japan is the last of these protectors, an unassuming regular-sized man who 'powers up' at electrical stations to become a nappy-sporting giant. This movie takes a documentary-styled approach to his story, interviewing him about his job as Big Man Japan and following him during and between his engagements with an array of bizarre city-destroying monsters over the course of four seasons.
Despite it's strange subject matter it's a bit slow to start, seeming to rely on an audience-curiosity factor as the interviewer dances around the nature of Big Man Japan's job. Various hints are dropped about Japan's general attitude towards the Big Man and the modern-day pressures inherent in what he does. The Big Man himself is slow to reveal any telling details about his domestic life, but it's pretty clear he leads a fairly pathetic existence - the reasons for which become increasingly clear during the second half of the film when he begins his downward slide. Anyone expecting an endless series of monster-smackdowns will be disappointed by Big Man Japan, it takes a fairly ludicrous idea and treats it as realistically as it possibly can, mixing the fantastic with the banal to create a fairly believable mythology (the archival footage of past Big Men in particular is a highlight). Unfortunately, this approach means that there is probably too much telling and not enough showing, and I think a more standard narrative-approach (as opposed to the documentary device) would've benefited Big Man Japan's warped character arc, maybe making the film more akin to something like The Wrestler.
Despite the misgivings I just listed and it's apparent slowness, it's still a movie worth sticking with for several reasons. There are several interesting ideas peppered throughout, such as the idea of sponsors advertising on Big Man Japan's skin or the Japanese populace being generally unimpressed by his antics. The monsters he fights (the Strangling Monster, Evil Stare Monster and the Child Monster mainly come to mind) are also quite ridiculous and amusing. The sequence where he faces off with the Stink Monster is hilarious, though I couldn't help but feel it didn't fit with the overall tone of the film (Big Man Japan never speaks in his 'Big' size until this point) and that the rest of the film could've been more like this in the interest of flat-out entertainment. Then again, I'm not sure 'entertainment' is what this film was going for... it features one of the most bizarre open-to-interpretation endings I've ever seen in a movie. At first the end sequence feels like a joke, but it drags way beyond any kind of punchline or resolution and has since fuelled a wide array of theories amongst critics and viewers (ranging from political comment on American and Korean foreign policy to more metafictional theories regarding the nature of Big Man Japan's life).
Anyway, this film is certainly a one of kind. It's not without it's faults but you won't forget it in a hurry either.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I have had this in my Netflix queue for months now. I have heard good things and the trailer made me laugh so hopefully it satisfies. I don't mind slow, so we will see.