Last Week's Movies #41

I watch so many movies that my movie memory is started to overload. So I've decided to start doing short reviews for each film I've watched during the week. Often they'll be movies I'm viewing for the first time, but some may be favourites that are getting their latest re-watch.

Africa Addio

(Italy, 1966, Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi)

7/10

Well, I've finally seen Africa Addio, and yes, it's as offensive as I expected. Don't let anyone fool you with claims that this is some kind of beautiful work of art. This is an evil exploitation film. I'm sure the rumours are true that scumbag geniuses Jacopetti and Prosperi caused a few human deaths for their film's benefit. Not to mention a Noah's ark of animals that are slaughtered disgustingly and graphically to the camera's delight. But worst of all is the film's racism. This is a nasty and hateful film that makes white people out to be perfection personified and blacks to be violent savages. Yes, it's offensive as fuck. And it's all very obvious and obnoxious. Perhaps in 1966 the visual metaphors and rambling narration seemed clever, but today it does not. At all. At times - when there's no animal slaughter - it's downright laughable. But still, I get why this is raised high on the exploitation pedestal. It does what it sets out to do - it disgusts, offends and leaves its audience completely depressed. It paints a horrible portrait of Africa, which - while racist - probably has some truth in it. And from a filmmaking standpoint, there's a lot to respect. Africa Addio looks amazing - the cinematography is great - and the music, while kind of obvious and overblown, it pretty impressive too. This is a reprehensible piece of cinematic history that should be seen by anyone that is even slightly interested in film.  

Ninja Kids!!!
aka Nintama Rantarô

(Japan, 2011, Takashi Miike)

8.5/10

I'm so pleased that I got to see two Miike movies at the cinema this year. Ninja Kids!!! is not his finest work - it's probably not even his best kid's film, if you include Zebraman - but this anime adaptation is still an absolute blast. The film is what you'd expect based on the title - we follow a group of ninja kids in training who, inevitably, are presented with a seemingly impossible challenge. Ninja Kids!!! is consistently funny with some truly gut-hurting laughs that pop up every now and then. The characters - both their design and their performers - are fantastic, but admittedly there is probably too many of them. That's the film's biggest downfall - it's all a bit too much. While it is entertaining, the plot is incredibly complicated - needlessly complicated - with far too much information being thrown at us at certain points in the movie. Ninja Kids!!! spends more time explaining than showing, which can get a little frustrating. That said, this is poked fun of at points in the film and actually winds up working in its favour. The film's ending also seems a little less epic than it should be and is somehow too short and too long simultaneously. But the good definitely outweighs the bad. Ninja Kids!!! is never boring and is mostly hilarious. Miike, once again, gives us an awesome and rewatchable flick.