Vital is arguably Shiny Tsukamoto's best movie, and one of the most resoundingly beautiful films I have ever seen. This is an all-time favorite for me.
This film follows a young man whose girlfriend was killed in the same car accident that caused his loss of memory. He soon enrolls in medical school and signs up for a dissection class to study the human body. Outside of class he begins to see his dead girlfriend in his dreams, but he is confused as to whether they are dreams, memories, or supernatural visitations. So there are lots of interesting themes at work here, and Tsukamoto plays with all of them while at the same time mirroring the beauty of biology. And how many romance movies can think of that emphasize the beauty of biology? There are not many films like this in existence.
One major positive of this film is the direction, lighting, framing of shots, and cinematography – which are all fantastic. Every frame is mesmerizing in its color scheme and visuals. For example, there's a lot of orange used near the beginning, but it later shifts towards a blue scheme that supplements the rainy environments. It reminded me a lot of Christopher Doyle's cinematography (which can be seen in films such as "In the Mood for Love" and "Hero"). Although Doyle did not do the cinematography for Vital, the visuals have the same craftsmanship and impact. Coupled with a hypnotic score, they really enhance the feel of dreams and memories.
The main actor here is Tadonobu Asano, who is mega popular and you've probably seen him in films such as Ichi the Killer and Survive Style 5. He's perfectly cast here as a rather gloomy fellow who is reserved but also suffering mentally and emotionally under the surface.
From what I've said thus far, this may seem like a somewhat downbeat film, but I feel that this is a heavily romantic experience, and this is most strongly presented during the dream sequences because this couples' relationship was prematurely taken away from them and these brief moments are the only times they get to spend together – if they're actual supernatural visitations. Remember, they could simply be dreams or memories. Regardless, the dream sequences are very memorable, my favorite of which occurs on a beach and incorporates a fairly passionate dance performance.
One fact that was brought to my attention while reading Tom Mes' book "Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto" (a fantastic book, by the way, that I highly recommend), was that Tsukamoto intentionally downplayed the grotesque aspects of dissection in favor of a focus on artistry and beauty. This is an excellent strategy when making a romance film. If you're a viewer who is squeamish about dissection scenes, you really have nothing to worry about. The majority of the dissections are shown via hand-drawn sketches, which are really cool. If you've seen diagrams within biology textbooks, you have an idea of what you're in for, but the sketches they show in Vital are practically artworks. When to see them, you think to yourself "Man, the interworkings of the human body are a very beautiful thing." It's no surprise that Tsukamoto found the work of Leonardo da Vinci as a major source of inspiration. So if you're scared of gore or violence, you can easily watch this. There are a handful of scenes where the exposed body is shown, but it's portrayed like a body is typically prepared for dissection in real life. So the "gore" aspect is practically neutered here.
Like many of Tsukamoto's films, Vital is a bit on the weird side and some scenes may be left to the viewer's interpretation – but that's the way this guy makes movies. You can always tell when you're watching a Tsukamoto film, even though he has made wildly different films throughout his career. Earlier in his career (late 80s and 90s) his films were very violent, but that began to change quite a bit during the late 90s. Vital is certainly one of Tsukamoto's most mellow films, but it has just as much impact as anything he's done before. This is great stuff, and a prime example of why I love this director so much.
This film follows a young man whose girlfriend was killed in the same car accident that caused his loss of memory. He soon enrolls in medical school and signs up for a dissection class to study the human body. Outside of class he begins to see his dead girlfriend in his dreams, but he is confused as to whether they are dreams, memories, or supernatural visitations. So there are lots of interesting themes at work here, and Tsukamoto plays with all of them while at the same time mirroring the beauty of biology. And how many romance movies can think of that emphasize the beauty of biology? There are not many films like this in existence.
One major positive of this film is the direction, lighting, framing of shots, and cinematography – which are all fantastic. Every frame is mesmerizing in its color scheme and visuals. For example, there's a lot of orange used near the beginning, but it later shifts towards a blue scheme that supplements the rainy environments. It reminded me a lot of Christopher Doyle's cinematography (which can be seen in films such as "In the Mood for Love" and "Hero"). Although Doyle did not do the cinematography for Vital, the visuals have the same craftsmanship and impact. Coupled with a hypnotic score, they really enhance the feel of dreams and memories.
The main actor here is Tadonobu Asano, who is mega popular and you've probably seen him in films such as Ichi the Killer and Survive Style 5. He's perfectly cast here as a rather gloomy fellow who is reserved but also suffering mentally and emotionally under the surface.
From what I've said thus far, this may seem like a somewhat downbeat film, but I feel that this is a heavily romantic experience, and this is most strongly presented during the dream sequences because this couples' relationship was prematurely taken away from them and these brief moments are the only times they get to spend together – if they're actual supernatural visitations. Remember, they could simply be dreams or memories. Regardless, the dream sequences are very memorable, my favorite of which occurs on a beach and incorporates a fairly passionate dance performance.
One fact that was brought to my attention while reading Tom Mes' book "Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto" (a fantastic book, by the way, that I highly recommend), was that Tsukamoto intentionally downplayed the grotesque aspects of dissection in favor of a focus on artistry and beauty. This is an excellent strategy when making a romance film. If you're a viewer who is squeamish about dissection scenes, you really have nothing to worry about. The majority of the dissections are shown via hand-drawn sketches, which are really cool. If you've seen diagrams within biology textbooks, you have an idea of what you're in for, but the sketches they show in Vital are practically artworks. When to see them, you think to yourself "Man, the interworkings of the human body are a very beautiful thing." It's no surprise that Tsukamoto found the work of Leonardo da Vinci as a major source of inspiration. So if you're scared of gore or violence, you can easily watch this. There are a handful of scenes where the exposed body is shown, but it's portrayed like a body is typically prepared for dissection in real life. So the "gore" aspect is practically neutered here.
Like many of Tsukamoto's films, Vital is a bit on the weird side and some scenes may be left to the viewer's interpretation – but that's the way this guy makes movies. You can always tell when you're watching a Tsukamoto film, even though he has made wildly different films throughout his career. Earlier in his career (late 80s and 90s) his films were very violent, but that began to change quite a bit during the late 90s. Vital is certainly one of Tsukamoto's most mellow films, but it has just as much impact as anything he's done before. This is great stuff, and a prime example of why I love this director so much.