Full of insanely vivid range of colours, the film is one of the most unique craziest pictures I came across in a very long time. It can be divided into four segments where two of them are strictly connected and the two others don’t belong to the same narration procedure. The film itself is a different depiction of obsessive love and its consequences on the male protagonists. It’s surprisingly a quite deeper and philosophical take than what meets the eyes.
Director and screenwriter Ishibashi Yoshimasa was able to successfully mix a wild variety of genres and styles in one film. The first part was so bright both in visuals and storytelling; it starts off quite peacefully to tell the story of Ovreneli Vreneligare – a very strange name especially in Japanese pronunciation. The narration itself was pretty strong for the most part even if it didn’t matter at all in some areas. The second sequence (my personal favourite) is about a relationships’ counsellor who advices “loser” boys in the strangest ways ever. However, the amusing part must be his “victory” show-off dance after each of those calls, as if he’s congratulating himself for a well-done job. The dancing style and the women by his side are completely hilarious if you manage to grab the essence of his actions. Next is the story of a time traveller Samurai who’s searching for the love of his life who was taken away from him, it was action packed with many engaging scenes. The whole running time was concluded by resuming the story of Ovreneli Vreneligare who grew up to create one fine finale for this piece.
One cannot appreciate this film without over-praising the indisputable star of the whole picture Yamada Takayuki. Being a big fan of his talent and acting style, I am ashamed to admit that it took me this long to watch his best acting performance to date. He’s a freaking chameleon! Yamada played three completely different characters yet he was able to grab the gist of all of them. At one moment, he’s a rude womanizer love coach, the next moment he’s one badass vengeful samurai and at the end he’s a shy boy in a man’s body. This is the best example to witness Yamada’s vast acting range and incredible versatility. All other cast members didn’t manage to shine by his side, not even for a while.
Cinematography and artistic visuals are the heart and soul of this film. Knowing that Ishibashi is originally a multimedia artist is definitely a plus that counts for the picture’s impact. The bright dazzling colours were quite captivating and the fighting sequences in the last part were highly intriguing. Although the length of slow motion action can become heavy after a while, it didn’t bore me a bit. The editing style was quite bizarre and chaotic but it still managed to come out so wonderfully. It’s worthy to mention that the soundtrack was ear-pleasing.
Watch if:
-You’re used to weird Japanese productions.
-You’re tuned to mangas, anime and online games.
-You like a special experience and a very distinctive definition of love.
Do not watch if:
-You completely dislike strange Japanese films.
-You dislike crazy plots which can go completely overboard.
Milocrorze: A Love Story is a very special experience about the common theme of love and separation. It evokes an enjoyable light-hearted experience that’s bound to leave you with a big smile on your face.
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