A Snake of June

I won't call this a review but more like impressions of the Japanese film whose English title is A Snake of June.

I bunch of months ago, when I was still using Blockbusters movie-by-mail service, I rented it. I thought by the description that it was kind of an erotic thriller but it was actually closer to soft-core porn. However, the really noticeable thing was that the movie didn't make any sense. At least it didn't to me. Now I'm not one to claim that I can understand everything I come across but I usually find something that I can make sense of in just about any movie I've seen. This was an exception. It probably made more sense to Japanese speaking audiences but I'd find it difficult to believe that anyone could completely grok this movie. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. There are plenty of good, enjoyable movies where you can't make head-nor-tail of the plot. The theatrical version of The Big Sleep being the one that comes to mind at the moment. The acting in Snake was probably quite good. I couldn't really tell because I was to busy trying to figure out what the hell just happened to spend time noticing that. And maybe it would have been easier if I didn't have to read subtitles as well. But I've watched a good number of movies in non-English languages having to read subtitles and been able to follow the plot and enjoy the acting and directing and such. Crouching Tiger is a good example. The plot is not very straight forward but it was a real joy to watch this movie. The original French version of La Femme Nikita is another. Both of these are complex movies that move as a good clip, especially Nikita, but I was able to stay with them and also notice the acting and directing as well as many of the other non-spotlight awards given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Anyway, this is just something that's been nagging at me for months. Again, this isn't a review, just my impressions.