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| Zoom In: Sex Apartments; (Naosuke Kurosawa, Japan 1980) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 15 2015, 12:58 AM (3,772 Views) | |
| wba | Feb 15 2015, 12:58 AM Post #1 |
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The Merciless
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| Deleted User | Feb 15 2015, 01:13 AM Post #2 |
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I will watch it if it has artful merit! but if it is grotesquely violating I might pass on voting and commenting in present company (and that is not a single thing against a soul here whatsoever, rather a demonstration of squeamish protection of my own sensibilities...heh) "My selections will focus on a clash of cultures, rampant desires, identity crises, the fragility and resilience of the body, traumatic outbursts, spiritual needs, hallucinations, rituals, the dignity of strangers, and other funny stuff. First film introduced will be a Kurosawa. " ...so I guess this is reflecting the "rampant desires and fragility and resilience of the body" aspects of your multi faceted conglomerate WBA? |
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| rischka | Feb 15 2015, 01:22 AM Post #3 |
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
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hmm i'm already concerned if it's 'sex apartments' or 'rape apartments'...there is a difference which japanese films sometimes struggle with. let me know how you like it meg
Edited by rischka, Feb 15 2015, 01:23 AM.
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"covfefe" -- dj cheeto letterboxd + tumblr + twitter | |
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| wba | Feb 15 2015, 01:28 AM Post #4 |
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The Merciless
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I think the question if it's "sex apartments" or "rape apartments" is an interesting one. Regarding the original Japanese title, there's no sex or rape apartments in it, if I understood correctly, but more like "assault complex" (referring to the living facilities). But metaphorically speaking, what is going on in the mass of anonymous apartments in the film, on a social scale, is probably "socially acceptable" emotional and physical abuse, so the conflating of sex with rape makes sense in this regard. I chose the title "Zoom In: Sex Apartments" here in order not to shock too many people or make them automatically apprehensive of watching the film. Edited by wba, Feb 15 2015, 01:38 AM.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| wba | Feb 15 2015, 01:28 AM Post #5 |
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The Merciless
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This one has rampant desires, identity crises, the fragility and resilience of the body, traumatic outbursts, spiritual needs, hallucinations, rituals and some other things I didn't list. This film is pretty essential in establishing my genre and what it's about at its core, and ties in nicely with my seventh and final selection (that is, if I ever make it to the finals). So it's a good beginning for what I'm aiming at with my genre and my selections and what these films have in common. PS: The "clash of cultures" I mentioned is meant as an encounter of people from different social classes and stratas, with different backgrounds, different ideas about life and love, differing desires and whatnot. It's a very important theme that is present in all my other selections, but not so much in this one, as this film is very introverted and totally focused on its female protagonist (all other characters are mere extras or reflections of her imagination, her desire, her fears, her past, etc.) and is more like a look into the mind of the kind of character and the kind of atmosphere and emotions all my other films will focus on. So the protagonist in this one is kind of the central romantic couples from my other films combined (and in a nutshell, and is imo in many ways very similar to the central female character in my last film) and also acts as a metaphor for the kind of things I want to explore. And the film also grapels with the philosophical and psychological problems that inform the other six films. Hmm, it's all rather abstract and complicated and that's exactly why I chose this film as the introductory one. Edited by wba, Feb 15 2015, 01:53 AM.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| javierquintero | Feb 15 2015, 01:33 AM Post #6 |
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Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock. - Walter Benjamin
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I need to watch this film. I can feel it's going to leave a mark on me
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| Vanda Duarte | Feb 15 2015, 02:49 AM Post #7 |
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I haven't seen it, but as I mentioned on the other thread, I've heard it being discussed on the Projection Booth Podcast: Episode 177: Zoom In: Sex Apartments Edited by Vanda Duarte, Feb 15 2015, 03:52 AM.
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| wba | Feb 15 2015, 02:57 AM Post #8 |
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The Merciless
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Yes, this podcast is pretty good, and they go in-depth on the film and have a general grip of what is going on and what this film could be about. Unlike most of the English language reviews on the net, of which I've read more than a dozen longer ones, and which are mostly useless (so please, everyone, stay away from them). But I'd honestly suggest to listen to it after you've seen the film, and I'd also recommend to anyone who's planning on watching Zoom In: Sex Apartments to simply watch it, without further knowledge, and read up on it afterwards. Believe me, the experience will thus be much more powerful and disturbing.
Edited by wba, Feb 15 2015, 03:05 AM.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| rischka | Mar 5 2015, 11:11 PM Post #9 |
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
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i'm watching this. and i can prove it![]() it's actually so over the top giallo style that it's kinda funny i don't really like giallo either though... ![]() Edited by rischka, Mar 5 2015, 11:37 PM.
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"covfefe" -- dj cheeto letterboxd + tumblr + twitter | |
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| wba | Mar 5 2015, 11:40 PM Post #10 |
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The Merciless
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Wow! Will be interesting to read your thoughts when you've finished it. I personally think it can be somewhat difficult to make sense of the film right after the first watch.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| rischka | Mar 6 2015, 12:27 AM Post #11 |
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
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ha! yeah no i won't be watching that again. it's a stylish porn film that eroticizes violence against women. come on; they're clearly turned on by the rapist/killer?? she goes back to the scene of the rape and masturbates for god's sake ![]() to think guys are getting off to this is deeply disturbing. and if that wasn't the purpose then why the three-way?? or the 2 three-ways i should say ![]() i do see (from a far distance) how it relates to your theme and how one could interpret it as a touching love story a la le boucher. but not me, thx. i'm not sorry i watched it as it really was too ridiculous to take seriously. but now i need to cleanse my brain. i still like you wba Edited by rischka, Mar 6 2015, 12:50 AM.
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"covfefe" -- dj cheeto letterboxd + tumblr + twitter | |
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| wba | Mar 6 2015, 12:59 AM Post #12 |
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The Merciless
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Wasn't implying that you should watch it again. Just that I think it's (probably for some, as it was for me) difficult to "get" the film initially, similar to a film like Mulhollad Dr., as I think the story is metaphorical rather than literal. When she went back to the scene of the rape and masturbated this was for me a pretty desperate act (not connected to eroticism), pointing to her psychological suffering. I personally don't think the film is a touching lovestory, but more like a depressing and disturbing description of a society's and person's state of mind. Though I intend(ed) to disturb the cup viewers of my genre with my initial choice, I hope it wasn't too unpleasant, rischka. Edited by wba, Mar 6 2015, 01:04 AM.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| rischka | Mar 6 2015, 01:02 AM Post #13 |
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
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don't worry, if it was that bad i would have turned it off. when i saw it was just over an hour i thought i should try to watch all the cup films.
Edited by rischka, Mar 6 2015, 01:03 AM.
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"covfefe" -- dj cheeto letterboxd + tumblr + twitter | |
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| wba | Mar 6 2015, 01:17 AM Post #14 |
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The Merciless
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Maybe I should also add that my two remaining group stage films are (probably) less disturbing.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| Deleted User | Mar 6 2015, 09:39 AM Post #15 |
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is that what was going on...well it appears to make derisive belittling use of its male characters in the pursuit of this: (1) the husband (a rutting vacuous moron) (2) the incidental male (sweaty vacuous opportunist) and (3) a big sook driven to extract suffering on women to sooth a breast-made-savage by betrayal (that old chestnut). Ok. Personally, I think I’d be more pissed off by this if I was a bloke. (tongue in cheek, but kind of not too)Anyway WBA I didn’t hate it* and going to check out the podcast. (curious how her name phonetically speaking sounded like psycho )*Edit: afterthought,(in case it doesn't go without saying) that there's plenty of what I referenced in video frenzy thread here, as flagged by Rischka already. |
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| wba | Mar 6 2015, 06:10 PM Post #16 |
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The Merciless
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^Yeah, well, of course ther are various digs at male characters, but I think it's pretty obvious that they are ridiculed/pitied from the moment they appear, so that in my opinion the whole story and characterization and stuff still revolves around her (and I also think the negative attitude of the "film" towards the male population and the society depicted can be as much a reflection of her attitude/imagination, as it is part of the overall directorial vision). Of course it's open to interpretation and what your general attitudes are. I understand how one could be pissed of by this as a male viewer (all males in this film are not merely assholes...) if everything is taken literally/at face value, but I personally identify with the female protagonist throughout the film (which also isn't flattering, as she's somewhat of a coward and oportunist herself), and also think that the whole sequence between the beginning (her husband goes on a trip) and end (her husband comes back) can be viewed as a phantasy/daydream sequence, with the actual ending giving more of an interpretation what has been going on (in her mind) and how the precarious balance between phantasy and reality might be somewhat reconciled in this depressing world she is stuck in. I don't want to start writing a lengthy explanation of my interpretation(s) of this film, but I think it's mostly about moving on and how to handle emotional loss and such (I mean, the films main ploy being her former boyfriend/lover imagined as a notorious serial killer), and I think the conclusion is somewhat cathartic, though the film is anything but optimistic. Hope what I wrote makes some sense to you (and I like your last observation, cause all of what's going on and the characters that appear could be extrapolations of her personality, manifestations of her fears, desires, her anger, desperation, her feelings of loss, abandonment, self-loathing, etc. pp.). Edited by wba, Mar 6 2015, 06:48 PM.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| wba | Mar 6 2015, 06:24 PM Post #17 |
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The Merciless
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I guess one could say the film wants to have the cake and it it too, coming out of the Japanese erotic genre of its time and such, but I think the (clever?) construction is that the protagonist and her story are (imo) "also" constructed like that, so what might appear as generic and gratuitous in the film is actually undermined and critiqued as well. Of course, depending on the way one watched/approached the film, I guess, all of that can be seen/felt entirely in an opposite way, so that the film seems through its construction "doubly" offensive. Personally I like films that don't completely resolve or even kind of exist in seeming contradictions and make productive intellectual/emotional/artistic use of that. But of course such an approach has to do with more complex issues of how one sees and uses art, what one thinks its purpose is, etc. and even going a little bit into all of that would definitely lead way too far in this thread... But I wanted to open that can of worms right at the beginning of my genre, as I believe it is vitally important for my selection of films, and what kind of thoughts and ideas and stuff I would like to activate in the viewers. Of course it can be futile if no one wants to follow your proposed line of thought, or simply disagrees on some basic things, but that's how it is with art and life in general. Edited by wba, Mar 6 2015, 06:26 PM.
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To please the majority is the requirement of the Planet Cinema. As far as I'm concerned, I don't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life, who think that a film is made only for their enjoyment, and who know nothing about their own existence. letterboxd * tumblr * website | |
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| M Penalosa | Mar 11 2015, 11:58 AM Post #18 |
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El Jefe
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There's a working theory that WBA is Julia Kriisteva in butch mode come to troll our Cup. |
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Letterboxd Profile My Blog | |
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| greg x | Mar 11 2015, 01:44 PM Post #19 |
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g legs' wife's lover
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I'm not sure what it means to have a place where Julia Kristeva jokes can be made assuming someone will get them, but, c'mon, that's a little harsh! Now if you had said Camille Paglia, I might actually agree... Edited by greg x, Mar 11 2015, 01:48 PM.
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| pabs | Mar 11 2015, 03:28 PM Post #20 |
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g legs' wife's lover
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If Camille Paglia started reviewing films here, I'd die. I love her obsessive rants and crazy juxtapositions, how she pulls all these weird associations out of nowhere. I don't always agree with her, but I love the lightning-strike way she expresses herself and her nervy, corrosive, take-no-prisoners style.
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| Lencho of the Apes | Mar 11 2015, 08:31 PM Post #21 |
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Let's go do some crimes
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If this were a site where Julia Kristeva jokes didn't play, i wouldn't be here. What makes SFCZ special... I can't find any way to endorse this movie; I'll grant that there are depths and subtexts at work, but investigating them doesn't take me anywhere that I value. Still thinking about it, but I really doubt that I'll come up with anything that's meaningful to me. Edited by Lencho of the Apes, Mar 11 2015, 08:34 PM.
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| "The four cardinal points of the compass? In reality, there are only three: North and South." | |
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| Deleted User | Mar 11 2015, 09:19 PM Post #22 |
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Julia Kristeva is a pretty apt person to reference, being pre occupied as she is with concepts of merging/abjection/differentiation of self and other in sexual identity and so on |
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| bure420 | Mar 11 2015, 09:43 PM Post #23 |
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deadpan darling
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hmm "She believes that it is harmful to posit collective identity above individual identity, and this political assertion of sexual, ethnic, and religious identities is "totalitarian"." i can dig, but totalitarian seems... excessive |
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| Deleted User | Mar 11 2015, 11:58 PM Post #24 |
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not sure how imposing a collective identity could be anything other than totalitarian |
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| Lencho of the Apes | Mar 12 2015, 12:16 AM Post #25 |
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Let's go do some crimes
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I think he's hung up on the word. Dick-joke, think about as "a tendency toward" and not Damian style "OMG THIS IS FASCISM." (And/or look up the definition for the meanings that don't pertain to systems of government.)
Edited by Lencho of the Apes, Mar 12 2015, 12:17 AM.
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| "The four cardinal points of the compass? In reality, there are only three: North and South." | |
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| Mario Gaborovic | Mar 12 2015, 12:27 AM Post #26 |
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g legs' wife's lover
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Exploitation is ok as long as it's imaginative or cool like Meyer or Corman films... But this was a sheer torture, a truly dreadful experience in every possible way. |
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| bure420 | Mar 12 2015, 12:48 AM Post #27 |
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deadpan darling
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totalitarian has an alternative meaning? like an apolitical meaning? is this one of those fake things like "economic violence"? genuinely don't know here @meg "not sure how imposing a collective identity could be anything other than totalitarian" okay but it's not really being imposed? i'm critiquing the wiki entry about her, not her actual text right, so maybe it's just a shitty article but how is stating that group identities are more important than individual identities necessarily totalitarian? if, say, a black trans woman says that her being black, being trans and being female is more relevant to her identity than her "individual psychic and sexual experiences" (also from the wiki article), what's totalitarian? who's being totalitarian, and towards whom? anyway, i agree that group identities are like over-emphasised and that doing this can actually obscure the experiences of actual members of oppressed groups, but yeah... just don't agree that it's totalitarian |
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| M Penalosa | Mar 12 2015, 11:53 AM Post #28 |
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El Jefe
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WBA's gone MIA. If I get beat 10-1 in my match, I'm rage-quitting you motherfuckers, too. |
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| Karl | Mar 12 2015, 12:49 PM Post #29 |
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troubadour
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I dunno, that REMORQUES is a pretty good one! |
| Crusades are gone out of fashion for the moment and the only warfare at present worthy of the name is the bloodless crusade against fools. - Norman Douglas | |
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| Lencho of the Apes | Mar 12 2015, 07:57 PM Post #30 |
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Let's go do some crimes
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I've been brooding over this movie or a couple of days now; I guess it's time to put my thoughts in order... though I'm not sure how to organize them. Incoherent babbling in three... two... one... Maybe I'll restrict myself to points nobody has brought up yet. First, though, I'd like to ask WBA (or any sympathetic viewer) what evidence the film gives for A) Seiko's life being a hopeless, dreary, oppressive thing of sadness and B) the lives of everyone in the complex being the same. Actually, I think I'll stop there for now. Awaiting further investigation: 1) Pomo intertextuality: narrative work is displaced onto allusions to Suspicion, Psycho and M (and other things) where the movie's central issues are handled explicitly in recognizable ways? 2) Pluses and minuses of appropriating 'women's issues" as narrative tropes when you're not necessarily well clued-in on same. See: "mansplaining." 3) Metaphoric resonances of the killer's M.O. Edited by Lencho of the Apes, Mar 12 2015, 08:29 PM.
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| "The four cardinal points of the compass? In reality, there are only three: North and South." | |
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Wow!


Just that I think it's (probably for some, as it was for me) difficult to "get" the film initially, similar to a film like Mulhollad Dr., as I think the story is metaphorical rather than literal.
(tongue in cheek, but kind of not too)
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8:15 AM Jul 11