The Mystery of Rampo | Masahiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka

The Mystery of Rampo | Masahiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka | Fox Wedding

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The Mystery of Rampo

	The Mystery of Rampo Masahiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka MGM (Video & DVD), 2004 average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Hailed by critics around the world, this "exciting and impressive." (Variety) tale of love and obsession based on the writings of Rampo EdogawaJapan's answer to Edgar Allan Poeis "an astonishing, first-rate achievement on all fronts Not to be missed" (Boxoffice)! Although Rampo is the literary toast of Japan, the government has banned his latest manuscript: a dark tale about a woman who suffocates her husband inside a hope chest. And when a local man is murdered by his wife in the same manner, Rampo becomes obsessed with her and embarks on a quest to unlock the truth about the crime. But as he traverses the line between his fantasy and her reality, is Rampo really trying to save the woman of his dreams or simply destroying the fragile shell of his own sanity?

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Real Unreality and Unreal Reality

The film was motivated by the writings of Edogawa Rampo (1894-1965) - a play on the name of Edgar Allan Poe. Rampo was a controversial Japanese thriller author whose work was often banned in the 1930s - which play themselves out in the movie and starts the tale off. The author was often compared to Edgar Allan Poe - for conjuring up the very same types of gothic imagery. In this movie, fantasy merges with reality in this mystery cum thriller. A woman has murdered her husband in a manner very similar to a killing depicted in an "unpublished" work of Rampo's. The irony is that the government has banned the novel of the same subject. In line with the fusion of reality cum fantasy upon meeting the killer, the writer is astonished to observe that she also bears an eerie physical similitude to the character that emanated from his mind's eye. The author/character Rampo soon becomes so fixated with her that he subsequently re-creates her as the woman a protagonist in his new novel. Often moving from one realm to the other and driving the lives of both fictional and real characters. However, complications develop when Rampo starts situating himself within the fictional realm/world he created. Before long, and this is where the genius of the movie really lies, that it is tricky for him - and the viewer - to figure out the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Michiko Hada is stunning in her portrayal of gothic damsel in distress. Beauty and the Beast never looked so good.

Miguel Llora

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Fox Wedding

Well, i've had this on a videotape for almost ten years and just yesterday decided to watch it. I'm glad i did! Unfortunately it wasn't widescreen, but apparently the colors are better on video, and i'd prefer that. Mono no aware! (the sadness of things)
ps. for advanced cases of nippophilia, try Lafcadio Hearn.

When Fiction Becomes Reality: Very Surrealistic Film!

Although "The Mystery of Rampo," is not based on any of Edogawa Rampo's writings, the film was motivated by the writings on Rampo. Edogawa Rampo was known as the Edgar Allen Poe of Japan; and Rampo even took his pen name from Poe [Japanese for Edgar Allen Poe]. This film may not appeal to many viewers, but I really liked the film. It is recommended with caution; however, I do own the film as I believe it is a very good film. The film is set in the late 1920s at the start of the Showa era of Japan. Edogawa Rampo (Naoto Takenaka) has just finished his latest novel. But there is more to this latest novel than meets the eye.

Rampo's finds that his latest work has been censored by the government. The government is concerned with the morals of the people, and believe the novel will set a bad standard. The novel deals with a woman who has murdered her husband, by allowing him to suffocate in a wooden chest. Upset with this, Rampo burns his latest work. However, upon reading the details of this murder in the newspapers the next day, which is brough to his attention by his assistant, he discovers that the circumstances of the man's death is identical to his latest novel. Something that this woman could not have known about since his novel was censored by the government. Therefore, Rampo decides to seek this woman out.

When Rampo encounters this woman, Shizuko (Machiko Hada) he discovers the woman also has the same name as the antagonist in his novel. And in a strange twist, when he decides to resume writing the novel, events in his book begin to happen in real life. The directors created a very atmospheric film with mystery and suspense. I knew that I was going to enjoy the film from the begining when the viewer is given a sweeping look of Rampo's library where one sees the mystery novels in his collection. And yes, there are the novels of Edgar Allen Poe. The film has excellent cinematography and a terrific score. It may not appeal to many viewers, but I enjoyed the film immensely. I recommended the film, however, rent it first to see if it appeals to your tastes.

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A low-key masterpiece

This is one of the most subtle Japanese contemporary films you'll find. Despite being a live action drama, it starts with an impressive and densely symbolic animation sequence that quickly establishes the pace of the fantastic story of real-life writer Edogawa Rampo struggling with... well, you'd better find out yourselves.

I think anyone interested in Japanese stylists like Kurosawa, Ichikawa Kon or Mizoguchi should see Rampo. I gave this film only 4 stars because of the transfer to DVD. I saw an older VHS edition the first time, then I bought the MGM DVD, and I was surprised to find the quality of both editions is pretty much the same. Which is really a downside for a movie with the amazing score Rampo has.

Anyway, I strongly recommend this movie to anyone interested in good filmmaking.

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Interesting and thought-provoking.

The Mystery of Rampo (Rintaro Mayuzumi and Kazuyoshi Okuyama, 1994)

Rampo Edogawa was a fine purveyor of mystery stories. (I strongly suggest checking out Rampo Noir, if you've not seen it yet, based on his work.) Okuyama and Yuhei Enoki had an idea-- not a terribly original one, but a good one nonetheless-- what if one of Edogawa's stories actually started coming true? Because Edogawa was a crime writer, you've basically got a hardboiled mystery already set up, and you get Rampo himself as the detective. What could possibly go wrong? Not a great deal, as it turns out (viz. Jarmusch's brilliant Hammett for another example of this odd subgenre); as long as your direction is competent and you get good enough actors, it's almost a guaranteed home run. And while it's not perfect, The Mystery of Rampo is at least a solid double that gets at least one runner across the plate.

We open with Edogawa (The Great Yokai War's Naoto Takenaka) at his publisher's office, being told that his most recent work has been censored by the government. Edogawa is rightly incensed at this, but through a series of coincidences, he finds out the reason-- murders exactly like those depicted in his story have actually been occurring. Edogawa figures he can solve the mystery by acting out his own story, so he asks himself the obvious question: what would Kogoro Akechi do? Akechi (The Bird People in China's Masahiro Motoki) is Edogawa's longtime hero, a smooth-operating detective who always knows just the right ting to do in any situation. Edogawa, unfortunately, is not Akechi, and he spends more time bumbling around in the dark than solving mysteries. He also finds himself drawn to Shizuko (former supermodel Michiko Hada, recently of Infection), who's the bad guy in the story. But in the real events, is she really the bad guy?

While I've come across recent Asian films that have been just as awful as their Hollywood counterparts, I still believe that in general, the output of the Asian film industry, be it in Honk Kong, Tokyo, Bollywood, or what have you, is of a higher quality than Hollywood is able to achieve these days. The Mystery of Rampo adds another arrow to that quiver; whereas a movie like this under the aegis of Hollywood would be all about the action and the mystery angle, The Mystery of Rampo proceeds at is own sedate pace, letting us get to know these characters through watching them interact rather than through cues we're already supposed to understand from having watched a thousand other movies of the same type. As long as Asia keeps that up, they'll kick our butts most of the time. This is not to say the movie is devoid of either action (which is used judiciously) or mystery (which is used in spades). A strong effort that requires a great deal of thought and attention on the part of the viewer, who will be rewarded by an evening-- or a week-- at the local coffeehouse debating the ending with compatriots. *** ½

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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