I don't know... sort of undecided? It's a quirky movie about very Japanese themes of alienation and need for affection, and the part of it that is a documentary of the unusual things one can find in Japan is enjoyable. The plot mechanics eventually bored me. I do feel the content struggled to reach 90 minutes. I realize now I haven't seen a Herzog fiction film since the days of Bad Lieutenant and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? but he made a few in between, some with big stars.
Mild yay. I agree that it's not entirely successful but I still found the theme and subject engaging enough on its own. It's back to basics in some ways for Herzog, with his guerrilla approach to filmmaking, but it's also just clumsy in ways his earlier films never were (and acting as his own cinematographer here did him no favors, you could have slapped some of this on NHK and I would have channel-surfed clear passed it).
Giving up in 2020. Who cares.
maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Sky Hopinka) ***½
Without Remorse (Stefano Sollima) *½
The Marksman (Robert Lorenz) **
Beckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino) *½
Night Hunter (David Raymond) *