Nightmare Detective 2 (Shinya Tsukamoto)

[Stay Puft]

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5973/nightmaredetective2posted9.jpg

http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/english-subbed-trailer-for-shinya-tsukamotos-nightmare-detective-2
Trailer with English subs.

http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/nightmare-detective-2-review/
Review from Cannes.

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Still haven't seen the first one. I can remember seeing one of the early trailers for it (the first one) and doing a double take when I saw Tsukamoto's name on it. Apparently it's pretty good, though. Just a trailer, I know.

This trailer for the sequel is much more appealing than anything I saw for the first. Review makes it sound very promising, too. Gotta check these out soon.

[number8]

I remember thinking that the concept would work great as a TV show. I guess it's not surprising that this might be a series of movies.

[Grouchy]

I remember thinking that the concept would work great as a TV show. I guess it's not surprising that this might be a series of movies.
I thought pretty much the same, only for a comic-book or a Horror manga a la Daydream.

Tsukamoto is an amazing filmmaker, and he seems to favor continuing stories and sequels.

[Stay Puft]

New (or more recent, anyways) Twitch review:
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/iffr-2009-nightmare-detective-2-review/

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I finally watched the first one last weekend for the Tsukamoto consensus, and had some mixed feelings. I like the concept, and Tsukamoto is really good here as The Guy, but for a filmmaker that I have always admired for his visual sensibilities, this is somewhat lacking. It's almost jarring, having watched it not too long after both Tokyo Fist and Haze, two different films from different periods of style, but both strong, singular and accomplished. Nightmare Detective often just feels pedestrian, and only occasionally reaches great heights. The ending, however, is incredible, and also unexpectedly (in a good way) cosmic. I loved it, and it almost makes the whole thing worthwhile (I gave it a 7 in the thread, at any rate).

[Stay Puft]

I don't suppose this thing is ever getting released over here, but I acquired a copy and in the spirit of Halloween finally gave it a watch.

It's good! I like it more than the first.

Nightmare Detective 2 feels low budget compared to the first (that stuff at the beginning, with the dead children parade and crazy dog, just looks cheap as hell), and it's certainly a pretty rough film even as Tsukamoto's work goes. But, I think this works to Tsukamoto's advantage at times. It's an interesting film, more ambitious than the first in terms of theme and structure, and also a lot more personal in focus. The first film has a conventional procedural narrative, but this one is more psychological and interested in the interior emotional lives of the characters. There's no villain, either, but rather an abstract "nightmare" that plagues some of the characters. The nightmare detective's mother also suffered this in his youth, and that's how he gets involved. The film is finally about his relationship with his mother. (I suspect Tsukamoto may have been putting more of himself into this one.)

More importantly, Tsuakmoto pulls out all the stops during the central setpiece, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time (elevator sequence almost gave me a heart attack, I swear) and I wanted to fucking cheer at a few points. The film is pretty rough on the whole, as I said, but when it's on, it's on. Still, the film is more stylistically similar to the first than I had hoped. Tsukamoto's visual sensibilities are not as strong here as in previous films, but again, when it's on, it's on, and it does have more interesting visual material than the first. The soundscapes are always the secret weapon in Tsukamoto's films, and this one is also much better than the first in that regard. Ishikawa's music is dynamite.

And, most importantly, I love the ending. As I said, this film is more personal than the first. Nightmare Detective builds to a cosmic conclusion full of revelations and such, but Nightmare Detective 2 builds to a smaller and quieter note, a personal moment between the nightmare detective and his mother. It reminded me of one of Tsai's films, actually, but that may only be because I remember Tsukamoto talking about Tsai's films as an inspiration for one of his previous efforts. Anyways, I quite like the ending, and the movie as a whole has been improving through recollection. It's one of those films where the good moments resonate to the point that I'm willing to overlook the stuff I didn't think worked at all.