21. Funky Forest: First Contact - Dir. Katsuhito Ishii and Hajime Ishimine
Like Mind Game, Funky Forest: First Contact is a film that makes me feel happy to be alive; it makes me thankful that I can see and hear. Funky Forrest is first and foremost a celebration of audio and video, an explosion of sight and sound. It's a mix-tape from the minds of an insanely creative deejay and emcee super-duo from another galaxy who have come to the Earth to teach us how to vanquish our modern cynicism and embrace life with enthusiasm.
Funky Forest, directed by Katsuhito Ishii and Hajime Ishimine, is comprised of dozens of short vignettes. The sketches range in time from around 15-minutes to mere seconds long, and, at 2.5 hours in length, there is always something new and exciting erupting from this mix-tape-like film.
One of my favorite things about listening to a new mix-tape is found in the first listen: the anticipation of what to expect next. For even if the current song is a great one, there is a chance that the next song will be even better. I also dig trying to figure out the thought process behind what songs were chosen, and the order they were put in. While it may seem to be random in nature, I believe that there are reasons why, if even on a subconscious level, a mixologist does things the way he or she does.
Funky Forest exhibits all of these qualities - and more. One of the first sketches features the “Unpopular With Women Brothers,” a group made up of two Japanese dudes and a young chubby white kid. One of the brothers longs to be a performance artist, while the other one, Guitar Brother, wants nothing more than the ability to woo women with his singer/songwriting skills. Their chubby anglo-brother is more than happy eating Snickers. The film soon switches channels to the daft storytelling abilities of the “Babbling Hot Spring Vixens,” three young girls who try to impress each other with their wacky stories. The brothers and the vixens soon share a common narrative thread when the performance-artist brother invites the three girls to a singles picnic.
The film also features the futuristic comedy-stylings of the wig-wearing “Mole Brothers;” the crazy high-school high-jinks of “Home Room!!!!!!!!;" and a couple of anime artists making an animated feature that is directed by Pero, a dog whose thoughts are transcribed by an old dude with a giant head. Oh yeah, and don't let me forget the organic, fleshy, musical instruments; the blood-sucking, slimy, puss-balls that live in the pants of a guy with giant nipples; and the naval-powered anal-wormhole that may be a portal to the Piko-Rico Alien planet.
Did I mention this movie is strange? As strange it might sound though, it is even more bizarre to witness, and as bizarre as it might be, it is almost always a pure joy to behold. For while on the surface it may seem like nothing more than an esoteric collection of jumbled thoughts, or the creative farting of a couple of commercial directors with no time for narrative, there are threads of common themes running throughout. There is a rhyme and a reason for everything that is seen or heard. The main thread of commonality is the exploration of the marriage between sight and sound, a trait I admire in many Japanese films, and nowhere is this more evident than in my two favorite sketches.
Early in the film, we are introduced to Notti and Takefumi, a young, super hip, kind-of-dating couple. They are both dreamers, and both are into music. Takefumi is an amateur deejay; his shrine to audio consists of thousands of records and a deejay booth with a girl's pelvis painted on its surface. The main volume knob for his hi-fi is in a secret compartment hidden in the girl's crotch, a compartment he bows to before opening and changing the volume. This simple gesture symbolizes the importance of music in this young man's life: his love for music is synonymous with his love for the female anatomy.
After a poorly mixed transition between two songs, Takefumi takes a moment to tell Notti of a strange dream he had. In his dream, Takefumi finds himself on a beach, and on the beach is a car with a pair of giant speakers connected to it. Inside the car is a furry-pants wearing punk-rock kid, deejaying on a couple of old tape decks. Dressed up in a pseudo-dominatrix outift, Notti is sitting on a strange spiked-chair perched upon a small hill. Notti tells Takefumi to dance for her, and through a series of hilariously choreographed dance numbers, Takefumi escapes his inhibitions and brings laughter and good cheer to Notti.
Later in the film, Notti tells Takefumi of her dream. In a mysterious forest there is a young girl covered in white fur and wearing a white wig; she is playing a violin. Hidden around her are three girls, one dressed in green, one in red, and one in blue, each with a color-coordinated pair of headphones on. The three girls are called The Volumes, and they are a group of outer space musicians who have come to the Earth to manipulate the music of the violinist. By plugging knob-covered machinery into the ground, the trees, and the whole of nature itself, The Volumes and the violinist play a concert of experimental sounds, analog melodies, bubbling computer burps, and hard-hitting techno. The entire performance is caught on tape by a young boy, and it is also enjoyed by a Buddhist monk passing through the forest.
Takegumi and Notti each dream about the power of music, and of how such power can shape both the physical and spiritual world. Through crazy costumes, dance, rhythm, and melody, the common thread in Funky Forest is found. I know this is a lot more plot-rehash than usual, but I just had to try to convey to you an example of the sights and sounds to be discovered in Funky Forest. But herein lies the irony of my actions: I simply cannot explain how this film made me feel, not in words, and not in pictures. Funky Forest is a film that celebrates the heart and soul, and it is a frustrating endeavor to try to capture this celebration in a simple review or critique.
Perhaps little Hachiko says it best in the first fully “realized” sketch. After daydreaming of being a super-powered being in another dimension, Hachiko comes to, and finds herself sitting at a desk in her room. Set before her are stacks of opened books, pencils, and loads of paper. She says disparagingly to herself, “I wish homework wasn't part of life,” and as simple as that statement is, it made me think. Why is homework a part of life? Who declared homework a part of life, and why in the hell did anyone ever listen to such nonsense? It must have been thought of during a time in our evolution that we were more stupid, because I simply cannot fathom anyone ever thinking that homework would be a good idea. Maybe things would be better if people had more fun, and let their hearts and souls be pulled along by the power of art and music. Perhaps a dose of Funky Forest: First Contact is exactly what the world needs now - more than anything.
