Starfish Hotel

Introduction

My second review of a 4Digital Asia title… and it's another DVD-R. No extras for yours truly, just the film with burnt in subs, compressed onto a single layer disc, no idea if the simple stereo is what will be on the retail version, and I have to put up with this…



… all the way through the film. Yup, this is going to be one of those short reviews.

The Movie

The past and present, fantasy and reality collide when an office worker's wife vanishes. Yuichi Arisu, apparently in a cold unrewarding marriage to Chisato, gets a brutal wake-up call when she disappears. He found his escape in the mystery fiction of author Jo Kuroda, and it's through that fiction that he met a woman on a business trip, with whom he had an affair. Now as he searches for his wife, he's haunted by memories of his infidelity, and dreams of Kuroda's latest novel, named after the hotel where he first met his mistress. When he meets a rabbit handing out flyers for the book, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

The Verdict

When you see any of the promotional imagery for the film, and even read some of the PR blurb, the first thing you will think is Donnie Darko. Well put your mind at ease, as beyond the obvious visual similarity, this film has nothing to do with the sci-fi mind-warp. This film is a rather more familiar psychological thriller mind-warp, and will be well-travelled territory for those who like movies to play with their perceptions. The man in a rabbit suit is just that, and it's the man who plays a part in the film, not necessarily the rabbit suit, although as the film progresses, the lines begin to blur.


Comparisons are also made to the films of David Lynch, which are certainly more apt. The fractured narrative, the dreamlike imagery, and the pervading sense of illicit sensuality and uneasiness is definitely playing in the same ball park, and as the film follows its convoluted twists and turns, it's very easy to be drawn into the off-kilter world view. There's also no signposting of the flashbacks, hallucinations and dreams, they are all filmed in similar styles, so the chronology of the film isn't immediately apparent, you're uncertain as to whether what's happening is real or not, but the confusion adds to the film's overall effect rather than detracts.


My complaint with Starfish Hotel is how that uneasiness is accomplished. With Lynch's films, and other similar psychological thrillers, it's through creative casting, edgy performances and a sense of the grotesque about the characters. Not so much here, as the characters are pretty straight and normal. The edginess is accomplished more through an eerie soundtrack, a constant dissonant orchestration that drills into the viewer and keeps him off balance. Only with the constant edgy drone, the music pretty quickly got on my nerves, and I was turning the volume down.


Starfish Hotel really isn't anything that hasn't been done before. Creepy psychological thrillers are a staple of cinema, and the ideas and story shown here aren't exactly new or original. Originality is overrated though, and music aside, the film accomplishes what it sets out to do, effectively and succinctly, although the sedate pace makes the film feel longer than it actually is. It kept me interested for the duration of its runtime, which is more than can be said for many of its ilk, although I doubt that I'll return to it any time soon. So a tentative recommendation, although as to what the final retail disc will be like… Beats me!