Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (Yôichi Sai)

[Stay Puft]

QUILL: THE LIFE OF A GUIDE DOG
Director: Yôichi Sai

IMDb link (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400761/)

http://i.imgur.com/50mIB.jpg

[Stay Puft]

I saw this movie about seven years ago, and was surprised to see that it was suddenly getting a commercial release in 2012. I don't remember much about it now, though I do recall the circumstances in which I saw it (caught it on a total whim when I had three hours to kill between two other screenings at my then local film festival).

I found an old capsule review I wrote about it from the RT Journal days (haha, wow... I feel old). So my three star mixed rating yay vote reaction is based on that (I rated it 6/10 or "fresh" at the time). According to my capsule, I found the majority of the film to be gentle and warm and generally pleasant, but the third act to ring a tad false what with the maudlin and the violins on the soundtrack (they used to be all the rage!). I imagine my reaction today would only increase in intensity, for good and bad, and it sounds like I could just as easily swing from a mild yay to a mild nay, but that's also just an impression of my old writing.

What really surprised me, however, was that I singled out this one actor, Kippei Shiina, for praise. I seem to have been quite impressed by him. At first, the name meant nothing, but then almost immediately there was a glimmer of recognition. I've seen this name before! Thought about it for a few minutes, came up with nothing and then went to IMDb to pull up his page. And what do you know: I had just recently seen Kippei Shiina in Takeshi Kitano's Outrage. When watching Outrage, I did not recognize or recall him; I was sure that was the first time I had ever seen the actor, and of course I was impressed by his performance. I had singled him out in my mind as the best part of Outrage. I enjoyed his performance so much that I nominated him in the supporting actor category for the 2011 Match Cut Awards.

Kippei Shiina, you son of a bitch!

[TGM]

Bump.

[Rowland]

I'd like to hear your thoughts, Rowland, to see how they compare to my seven-year-ago self.It's refreshing to see a family-orientated movie featuring live-action animals that aren't shamelessly anthropomorphized by phoned-in celebrity voices, shoddy CGI manipulation, and vulgar pop-referentiality. The tone of the film as a whole in fact is curiously low-key, even downbeat, as it treads in some pretty heavy, almost existential themes, ably supported by direction that exudes maturity and restraint without entirely disregarding formal dynamism when appropriate. Such a sensibility is appreciated, but the writing isn't quite up to the task, with various character threads established only to be unceremoniously ignored, and the main narrative through line concerning Quill's training and life as a guide dog striking me as curiously unconvincing. Tonally inappropriate strains of alternately twee and melodramatic scoring grate, the non-canine acting can be bizarrely stilted (will you people stop smiling!), and the last act, while thematically appropriate and inevitably moving, is also morbidly sentimental to a fault. So in short, as respectable and gracious as it is, I can't help liking the idea of this film more than I actually like it.

[dreamdead]

This was pleasantly agreeable. The first two-thirds of the film moves gently and lacks any real melodramatic angle. However, I also agree with everyone else that the third act undercuts its own effectiveness, opting for heartache and musical cues when the majority of the film avoided such trite measures. I doubt that this will really resonate much after the fact, but it's pleasant and diverting enough.

And in terms of puppy porn, the film's first twenty minutes or so were brilliant.