*** SPOILERS ***
In many ways this is a film in the tradition of Hollywood comedy traditional narrative (a goal orientated story, a peculiar group of characters, mainly outsiders and stereotyped (their physical appearance is a source of jokes), who work together to achieve some sort of goal or recognition.
Yet, unlike many American comedies, it has loads of sincere humanity and unexpected touching moments from these characters (especially Mamiya Masako, an overweight woman played by Umemoto Ritsuko) avoiding falling into sentimentality. Unrequited love pervades the film (between Kawamura, the sumo's club manager and Haruo, Shuhei's brother and to some extend between Haruo and Masako), so that typical sugary kissing scenes culminating these sort of films are scrapped from the story. And the humour, worth of films such as There Is Something About Mary, borders in the scatological.
To some extent it works as social comedy as we are offered a funny glimpse at Japanese society. For example: Professor Anayama points out the anomalous fact that even though the attendance sheet says that Shuhei was present at every class, he'd never set eyes on him (Shuhei) before. So he blackmails Shuhei into joining the sumo club if he wants to graduate. Japanese students' most difficult academic period in their lives is at high school and before the University entrance exams period called "examination hell" (Juken jigoku). Once they get access to University they treat this period rather as a holiday before they enter the labour market. As well as in many American Universities sports scholarships are offered to the less brilliant students but highly talented athletes. Kawamura, played by Shimizu Misa leading character in the latest three films by Imamura's Shohei, is writing a thesis on manipulation of the media and manages to get the team on TV.
The British student, Smiley, highlights some of the inconsistencies of Japanese culture (Japanese people rather laid-back (or flexible) attitude towards religion and the stereotype that they don't delve in things). He asks the Japanese members of the sumo club why a Christian University has statues of Shinto gods or kami in the training ring (dohyo). Aoki (played by the always interesting Takenaka Naoto) and Shuhei's ignorance of Sumo tradition is emphasised as they are unable to explain Smiley some of Sumo's traditional characteristics, for example why sumo wrestlers need to wear mawashi, which everybody keeps it calling jock strap upsetting Aoki.
Jokes, even though scatological, are not out of context as they help to understand some of the peculiarities of Sumo .For example how you manage to pee wearing a mawashi or how the mawashi is never washed and the group don't know which one belongs to whom. This is made even more gruesome by the fact that Aoki always s**** on his mawashi before an important match.
There are some interesting deviations from the conventions mentioned above. A love story between the supposedly hero of the film, Shuhei, and the heroine, Kawamura, does not occur within the time-space frame of the film. It is suggested that something of a relationship could start at the very end of the film but it seems unlikely as Kawamura tells Haruo that she is not interested in love. It is also worth pointing out that Shuhei's last gaze, before the definitive fight, is directed at Masako. As Masako, in fact, becomes the hero and inspiration for the rest of the group. Initially a cleaner and cook for the group she decides to fight when Haruo, whom she is in love with, gets injured. This decision becomes the most emotional, not sentimental, and moving scene of the whole film as well as the most challenging, and it is played brilliantly subtle by Shimizu Misa and Mamiya Masako with the minimum of dialogue. By doing so a monolithic rule of sumo is challenged, that women are not allowed inside the dohyo. Secondly, her action is in sharp contrast with Smiley's reluctance to fight without wearing shorts under his mawashi (he does not see the point of having his buttocks uncovered and does not want to show them to the crowd) and therefore loses his matches by default. Masako does not even hesitate to fight even though she will have to show her breast. It is quite curious that once Smiley decides to fight without his shorts on, the fights are shot from behind him so we get a good glance at his backside and all this works as probably the subtlest joke in the film.
So, a highly recommended film for its humour and humanity.
In many ways this is a film in the tradition of Hollywood comedy traditional narrative (a goal orientated story, a peculiar group of characters, mainly outsiders and stereotyped (their physical appearance is a source of jokes), who work together to achieve some sort of goal or recognition.
Yet, unlike many American comedies, it has loads of sincere humanity and unexpected touching moments from these characters (especially Mamiya Masako, an overweight woman played by Umemoto Ritsuko) avoiding falling into sentimentality. Unrequited love pervades the film (between Kawamura, the sumo's club manager and Haruo, Shuhei's brother and to some extend between Haruo and Masako), so that typical sugary kissing scenes culminating these sort of films are scrapped from the story. And the humour, worth of films such as There Is Something About Mary, borders in the scatological.
To some extent it works as social comedy as we are offered a funny glimpse at Japanese society. For example: Professor Anayama points out the anomalous fact that even though the attendance sheet says that Shuhei was present at every class, he'd never set eyes on him (Shuhei) before. So he blackmails Shuhei into joining the sumo club if he wants to graduate. Japanese students' most difficult academic period in their lives is at high school and before the University entrance exams period called "examination hell" (Juken jigoku). Once they get access to University they treat this period rather as a holiday before they enter the labour market. As well as in many American Universities sports scholarships are offered to the less brilliant students but highly talented athletes. Kawamura, played by Shimizu Misa leading character in the latest three films by Imamura's Shohei, is writing a thesis on manipulation of the media and manages to get the team on TV.
The British student, Smiley, highlights some of the inconsistencies of Japanese culture (Japanese people rather laid-back (or flexible) attitude towards religion and the stereotype that they don't delve in things). He asks the Japanese members of the sumo club why a Christian University has statues of Shinto gods or kami in the training ring (dohyo). Aoki (played by the always interesting Takenaka Naoto) and Shuhei's ignorance of Sumo tradition is emphasised as they are unable to explain Smiley some of Sumo's traditional characteristics, for example why sumo wrestlers need to wear mawashi, which everybody keeps it calling jock strap upsetting Aoki.
Jokes, even though scatological, are not out of context as they help to understand some of the peculiarities of Sumo .For example how you manage to pee wearing a mawashi or how the mawashi is never washed and the group don't know which one belongs to whom. This is made even more gruesome by the fact that Aoki always s**** on his mawashi before an important match.
There are some interesting deviations from the conventions mentioned above. A love story between the supposedly hero of the film, Shuhei, and the heroine, Kawamura, does not occur within the time-space frame of the film. It is suggested that something of a relationship could start at the very end of the film but it seems unlikely as Kawamura tells Haruo that she is not interested in love. It is also worth pointing out that Shuhei's last gaze, before the definitive fight, is directed at Masako. As Masako, in fact, becomes the hero and inspiration for the rest of the group. Initially a cleaner and cook for the group she decides to fight when Haruo, whom she is in love with, gets injured. This decision becomes the most emotional, not sentimental, and moving scene of the whole film as well as the most challenging, and it is played brilliantly subtle by Shimizu Misa and Mamiya Masako with the minimum of dialogue. By doing so a monolithic rule of sumo is challenged, that women are not allowed inside the dohyo. Secondly, her action is in sharp contrast with Smiley's reluctance to fight without wearing shorts under his mawashi (he does not see the point of having his buttocks uncovered and does not want to show them to the crowd) and therefore loses his matches by default. Masako does not even hesitate to fight even though she will have to show her breast. It is quite curious that once Smiley decides to fight without his shorts on, the fights are shot from behind him so we get a good glance at his backside and all this works as probably the subtlest joke in the film.
So, a highly recommended film for its humour and humanity.
