By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Mitsuo Yanagimachi
Starring: Hinano Yoshikawa | Meisa Kuroki | Shuuji Kashiwabara | Tetsuji Tamayama
Original language title: Kamyu nante shiranai
Country: japan
Year: 2005
Running time: 115
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456873/combined
Bruce says: “WHO’S CAMUS ANYWAY?, if it is ever distributed, will surely be famous for its lengthy opening shot which introduces all the many main characters and gives us the lay of the land, the land being the central courtyards of a college. The students we meet are all studying film and have precise roles in a student film project. As the camera drifts about seamlessly the students are discussing famous first shots in films like THE PLAYER, TOUCH OF EVIL and THE 47 RONIN. Films references abound throughout WHO’S CAMUS ANYWAY and one gets an inkling that director Mitsuo Yanagimachi is putting to use all the information he has amassed while teaching.
“The professor who is mentoring the student film is a director of some renown, now nestled comfortably in academia. The student director anguishes over everything but has few visible organizational skills. He is constantly distracted by his girlfriend’s threats of suicide interspersed with her marriage proposals. She threatens murder should he be unfaithful. The producers are nerds who know obscure facts that can be of no use to anyone but fellow film buffs. The assistant director is lonely after bidding adieu to her hunky mountain climbing boyfriend. The lead actor suddenly cancels and a replacement is found, with little enthusiasm or confidence from most of the crew. The girl in charge of continuity has her eye on the director. The photographer has a crush on the assistant director. The professor becomes enamored with a young girl he sees on campus. And so it goes.
“The film they are making involves a brutal murder. The new lead actor playing the murderer is having a sexual identity crisis. He suddenly decides to put the make on the assistant director. Meanwhile the continuity girl sleeps over at the director’s apartment. The assistant director decides to make her move on the director. Then a horrible accident happens which endangers the completion of the film.
“WHO’S CAMUS ANYWAY? is so laden with characters and plot details that it is difficult to catch the subtleties of the script and the acting amid the confusion. It is a delightful romp, yet I’m not exactly sure if I caught all the cinematic innuendos or even followed all of the plot. 3 cats
“WHO’S CAMUS ANYWAY? was shown at the 2005 New York Film Festival”