Gimmy Heaven (2005, DVDrip).avi

Director:
Toru Matsuura
Writer:
Yuji Sakamoto (writer)
Release Date:
March 2005 (Japan)

Police hunt for a killer who orphans a teenage girl suffering from a rare sensory disorder; she experiences one thing as another - clouds smell like daffodils, straw tastes like tomato sauce, that kind of thing. The potential of this idea, both in terms of plot and visuals, is immense, but unfortunately it is never realised due to a script that relies heavily on exposition and some ham-fisted direction by Matsuura. Eguchi gives his best performance since Swallowtail Butterfly, but his sidekick (Ando?) mugs it up in every scene he has. The guy playing Picasso thinks good acting is no acting, or no reacting. I mean, I don't think he even blinks. He's obviously trying to be Kitano, but fumbles it badly. The talented Ishida is under-used as one of a male-female detective duo whose only function seems to be to narrate the plot holes. Oh, and to smoke, and even the product placement on behalf of Japan Tobacco is ham-fisted. The camera is constantly slowly tracking right-to-left, but this seems less an aesthetic choice and more like a grip left the dolly on an incline and forgot to lock the wheels. I came to Gimmy Heaven after reading a favourable review in a usually reliable publication, so someone out there likes it. The one good thing was how the point-of-view of the girl is handled once we get to see things (specifically, rain) through her condition. Unfortunately, it is too little, too late.