Tony Takitani

[Maje 1]

"Tony Takitani (played by the great stage actor Issey Ogata, last seen on film in Edward Yang's A One and a Two) is a commercial illustrator, specialising in mechanical drawings. An only child, half-estranged from his father, he isn't conscious of his own loneliness until it's unexpectedly filled by a wife, Eiko (Rie Miyazawa). Life hovers on the brink of fulfilment - except that Eiko buys an alarming number of clothes. And when she dies in a road accident, Tony Takitani is left with a roomful of near-new designer outfits..." - lff.org.uk

Haruki Murakami offers some of the most compelling, addictive modern fiction available today. Quite apart from his Japanese nationality, and our love for such activity, the man is just a brilliant author.  Norwegian Wood acted as my entry-point; Dance Dance Dance became an all time favourite; The Wind-up Bird Chronicle presented a challenge only matched by Ulysses. Throw in his newest, Kafka on the Shore (which is beneath a whole buggerload of school reading, sadly) and many other short stories and novels and you have a robust and consistent set of excellent literature.

With Tony Takitani we get a very concentrated, brief visual representation of what Murakami is about. The underlying sense of melancholy and loneliness - both of which the protagonist is unaware of until another party changes their outlook - are present in spades and embodied beautifully. This is a very sad film. It doesn't take any cheap shots or pander to the audience. It has no sex, violence or swearing but it still holds a great deal of emotional weight and maturity.

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The narrative voice (detached from any of the characters, perhaps suggesting a Murakami-like figure) playfully interweaves with the dialogue and characters often finish off its sentences in 'real time'. This demonstrates the film's gentle sense of humour as well as giving a good nod to Murakami's comedic style.

Cinematically the film is shot in quite a broad, set-piece manner, with each scene panning into the next with a single fluid movement. The sense of whimsy Murakami creates with his realistic settings is one of his signature points, and Tony Takitani captures this ethereal feel perfectly. The cast also acts brilliantly with restraint and subtly. I haven't heard of any of the actors here, but after this film I'm going to make an effort to investigate their work.

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Conclusion

Tony Takitani is a quiet film with a slow pace and not a lot of visceral satisfaction . . . but this is exactly why it's so charming. Watching one scene drift dreamily to the next is compelling in a completely different way. It doesn't grab your attention as much as lull it gently, and this is one of the better ways to explain how Murakami's writing works. Strangely, Tony Takitani doesn't immediately represent what I envisioned Murakami's work to look like, but I'm at a loss to criticise it in that respect. A definite recommendation to those who enjoy subtly and beauty in their films, and Murakami fans will be more than satisfied. Lovely stuff.

http://hvo.typepad.com/hvo/film/index.html

A descrição do filme cativou-me imenso. Pessoalmente, para além de comedias (Lol), uma coisa q os japoneses fazem bem em cinema é slice-of-life, divagaçoes poeticas/melancolicas, e romances suaves. Sim, nao gosto dos filmes de acçao nem terror, LOL.

Apesar de não ser grande fã do Murakami, as caracteristicas do estilo dele em filme devem facilmente tornarem-se adoraveis. (tenho de dar uma nova oportunidade aos livros do Murakami, btw Extremamente Feliz, Pus de lado o autor depois do Sputnick Sweetheart e do Hard-boiled Wonderland).

Para além da descriçao, tambem achei como um outro factor motivador a propria pessoa q a escreveu: tive a dar uma vista de olhos pelo blog do tipo e gostei das opinioes, gostos, e atrevo-me até a dizer, personalidade dele. Sorriso

Alguém já viu o filme?

EDIT: só reparei isto agora:

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle presented a challenge only matched by Ulysses.

WTH? O Ulysses do James Joyce?? Oh, por todos os deuses do Abismo.....  X_______X

Retiro o q disse sobre gostar dos gostos dele, lol.

Ok, tou a brincar, mas o Ulysses é para mim uma espinha atravessada.

[fagn 485]

Concordo, os japoneses são mesmo bons a fazer filmes slice of life como disses-te, que são dos meus preferidos. Também têm filmes de terror bons mas eu também não aprecio.

Não estava à espera de encontrar um topico sobre este filme ainda por cima de uma pessoa que não leu o livro, digo isto porque acho que o filme não é muito conhecido. Eu soube deste filme porque li a short story tony takitani no livro a rapariga que inventou um sonho do Haruki Murakami, e em nota de rodapé dizia que existia um filme.

Eu gostei do filme mas não aconselho a quem não gostar de "slice-of-life, divagaçoes poeticas/melancolicas, e romances suaves".