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Shady AKA Kashikoi inu wa hoezuni warau
R2 - United Kingdom - Third Window Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (21st March 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Ryohei Watanabe’s debut film concerns two teenage girls and their friendships. The first friend is Misa, a stocky girl who is viciously dubbed Pooh at school, due to her surname “Kumada” (bear + rice paddy) and masculine frame. The other friend is Izumi, who says she can’t make and keep friends because all the other girls are jealous of her looks. Together, the two become best of friends, owed to them both being such firm outsiders. Their blossoming friendship starts off as endearing and as the two spend more and more time together, the sheen of the relationship peels away. When the darkness and violence eventually bleed into the mix, that authenticity turns what could just be another tale of teenage friendship gone awry, into a genuinely disturbing thriller. Nominated – Best Debut Film – Raindance Film Festival Winner – Entertainment Award and Cinema Fan Award at the PIA Film Festival
Video
Independent British distributor Third Window Films continue to bring the little-known delights of Japanese and Korean cinema to British shores with "Shady", a Japanese film with a budget of roughly £10000. The transfer is anamorphic 1.78:1, and despite the obvious limitations of using cameras and equipment that are not high-end, it looks pretty good - if flawed. As per usual with these low budget movies shot on a shoestring, the technical aspects are not what's most important, yet we still want to see the highest possible quality in our own home cinemas. The main problems with Shady's transfer are, I believe, to be related to the source material. Shady is a very dark film, which utilises many blacks and greys. The blacks are never quite deep enough though, and sometimes even look a little washed out. Sharpness and clarity is also lacking at times. Although details can be seen, they often become a little fuzzy and out of focus, especially when it comes to shadow details. On the upside, skin tones seem accurate for the majority of the run time, if maybe a shade dark at times, and the colours used in the locations (especially the apartment Izuma takes Kumada to) set the tone of the film perfectly. There are no major issues such as scratches or blemishes, and I noticed no signs of aliasing or obvious edge enhancement. The disc is NTSC, and the feature runs 93:58.
Audio
Strangely my equipment picks up two different audio streams here, but both are identical Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo tracks. Anyway, the quality of the audio here is superior to that of the picture. Although it is only a 2.0 track, it still has enough depth to feel immersed in the gloomy story, with special thanks to the perfect score by Naoyuki Chikatani. Separation is minimal, but then there are not a huge number of instances where it could be utilised. As should be expected for such a new movie (low budget or not), there are no drop outs or scratches, and I noticed no signs of background hiss. Whilst it doesn't set the world alight, the track here is certainly suitable. Optional English subtitles have been provided.
Extras
We start the extras off with an interview with the main cast, lasting (10:43). In this interview, cast members Mimpi B and Izumi Okamura discuss several elements of the film, including the transition from their regular careers (singer/model), working with director Ryohei Watanabe, and their characters. The questions appear in the top right hand side of the screen, and to be honest, whilst this is okay, I'd have preferred a black text screen with the question before the answers, so that the questions and answers (via subtitles) did not appear on screen at the same time. Next, we have an interview with director Ryohei Watanabe (7:29). It's presented in a similar style to the cast interview, with the questions in the top right, and Watanabe talks about his experiences making the film (this was his debut), the themes, character development and his inspirations (which include Memories of Murder). He seems proud of his film, and so he should be. The extras finish with a weblink.
Overall
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