Bugs + SM + self-mutilation + Kikuchi Rinko = big laughs?!
Posted on Tuesday, 13 March 2007 at 4:43 pm
Oscar-nominated Kikuchi Rinko looks to be emulating Watanabe Ken’s model of vocational rejuvenation, using a supporting role in a high-profile Hollywood film to reboot her domestic career. Although she’s by no means a newcomer, the media recognition Kikuchi gained from her much-lauded turn in “Babel” has rapidly elevated her to top-billed status at home, and at least for now she’s a hot property. However, local audiences will see her next in a “magical suspense comedy” that began filming before she became Kikuchi Rinko, international actress: Miki Satoshi’s “The Insects Unlisted in the Encyclopedia” (Zukan ni Notte nai Mushi).
A freelance writer (Iseya Yusuke) is given a bizarre assignment by the sexy editor of “Black Book Monthly” (Mizuno Miki): find a bug with the power to bring humans back from the dead, in order to report on the afterlife. With his trusty companion Endo (Matsuo Suzuki) in tow, he sets off on a quest for the elusive insect and along the way meets the mysterious Sayoko (Kikuchi), a former dominatrix and habitual wrist-cutter who delights in rubbing wasabi into her wounds. Yep, sounds like a Miki Satoshi movie to me. Other cast members include Iwamatsu Ryo, Fuse Eri, Matsushige Yutaka, Sasano Takashi, Mitani Noboru, Watanabe Hiroyuki, Takahashi Keiko, Shimada Kyusaku, Tsugumi and Mame Yamada.
Like Sabu and Yamashita Nobuhiro, writer-director Miki is one of the few Japanese filmmakers currently working who can deliver quirky and absurd humour without resorting to the blatant gurning and hysterics that are often passed off as comedy on the big and small screen here. He’s already built an impressive track record which includes episodes of the cult comedy series “Jiko Keisatsu” starring Odagiri Joe and Aso Kumiko, and three low-key but hilarious features: “Damejin“, “Kame wa Igai to Hayaku Oyogu” and “In the Pool“. This guy is definitely one to watch.
Filming on “The Insects…” initially took place in August 2006, but a toe fracture sustained by co-star Iseya brought the shoot to a halt until it finally resumed earlier this month. There isn’t much detail currently available apart from what I’ve written here, but you can catch an early glimpse of the madness in this preview. “The Insects Unlisted in the Encyclopedia” opens this June. (source: Sports Hochi)