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The Clash Overpowered by Funk
Album : Combat Rock
2LDK?
I've been watching movies almost every week with my gaming community. We call it #Frag Dolls Movie Night! About a year or two ago, I was on a huge Violent Japanese movie trip where I wanted to watch everything Japanese/Asian exploitation cinema could throw my way. I stumbled upon tons of the stuff and always wanted more. I recently dipped back into my [small] collection of violent foreign movies and rediscovered a gem. I purchased a 3 DVD box set named the
Danger After Dark collection, in which 2LDK was apart of. 2LDK (2-Bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen), is the product of an idea from Producer Shinya Kawai for Directors Ryuhei Kitamura and Yukihiko Tsutsumi. The idea tuned into the Duel Project, a competition in which the guidelines were:
- Make a feature length film with two principal actors battling it out
- Film in one main location
- Complete filming within a week's time.
Kitamura's end product was
Aragami, which I have yet to see. Tsutsumi's piece is one laced with violence, a twinge of that feeling you get while watching The Odd Couple and wraps it in black comedy.
The films starts as Nozomi and Lana, two actresses trying to make it big, arrive home and the tensions start to rise. They are both auditioning for the lead role of a film named "Yakuza Wives", so right away there is a point of contention for the two struggling actresses. You see the false sincerity resonating from both women in their interactions (the voiceovers of their inner thoughts don't hurt,either).
The relationship Tsutsumi creates in his characters is very reminiscent of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. You have Nozomi, a small town, quiet, reserved, neat freak whose nitpicky complaints would drive just about anyone crazy. She even goes as far as to label what to belongs to whom in the fridge. Lana is the complete opposite. She's loud, slightly airheaded, messy and seems to have no inhibitions when it comes to furthering her career. She's also shown to be bit of a gold digger, wearing expensive clothing and jewelery.
The groundwork is all laid out and the conflict is made more interesting by the fact that they're both also competing for the attention of the same guy. Their argument becomes a little less trivial and a lot more dangerous as each girl reaches her boiling point. This is where the movie starts to get twisted, but in the best way possible. The ladies soon come to blows in a brutal, estrogen powered deathmatch. They do things to each other that nobody could possibly survive. The violence itself becomes a vehicle because the brutality borderlines the absurd.
This is a decent movie for any fan of ridiculous violence coupled with dark comedy. It's a very well done considering the conditions under which it was made and is overall enjoyable. Even if you end up not liking it, it only takes about 70 minutes of your life so you really don't have much to complain about.
