Watch Vital For Free

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Just perfect...

Best movie ever!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Shinya Tsukamoto is a director best known for his violent, hard-hitting and heavily industrial-influenced art-dramas, such as the 1988 cult-classic Tetsuo: The Iron Man and it's somewhat poorly received 1991 follow up Tetsuo II: Body Hammer. These films are placed alongside his two contemporary masterpieces, Tokyo Fist and A Snake of June. Whereas those films were fast, furious and hyper-kinetic affairs, punctuated by grainy cinematography, punch-drunk editing and a soundtrack of jarring industrial noise, Vital finds the maverick filmmaker in a slightly more poetic and philosophical mood; creating a slow and lingering film that looks at the notions of love and loss through the eyes of a central character trying to both understand and come to terms with the death of his free-spirited former lover.As with much of Tsukamoto's work, the film is rich in visual symbolism and texture, with the opening scene disorientating us with a kaleidoscopic montage of four industrial chimney-stacks pumping smoke into an overcast sky. Later on, after enrolling in a medical course at his local college, our protagonist will witness four bodies being dissected, including, surprisingly enough, that of the central character's deceased love. This is the central arch of the story and the location where much of the film unfolds, with Tadanobu Asano's character Takagi piecing his life back together as he literally picks apart the body of his former lover and comes to terms with his own role in the loss of her life. As you can probably imagine from a story of this nature, the film is incredibly slow-moving and deliberately paced, with Tsukamoto juxtaposing the coldness of Takagi existence of continual study and cultural isolation with the rich, warm vibrancy found in that of his late girlfriend's wild and unfettered existence on an island paradise that may or may not exist only within the fragmented mind of Takagi himself.The scenes of Takagi and his fellow medical students dissecting the rotting flesh and hollowed bones of the four symmetrically positioned corpses is sympathetically handled, with the director creating a mood of unease through the use of a sickly yellow lighting filter, so that the film manages to create an air of queasiness and uncertain anxiety without having to show anything too explicit. There are further examples of Tsukamoto using the lighting and cinematography to underpin the emotions of the character within other areas of the film, for example, the scenes in which Takagi works on his studies or reminisces about the ghosts of his life, pre-accident, are bathed in a cool blue that recalls the cold and clinical cinematography of A Snake of June, which again, brings out the sense of cold alienation central to the character's life. These colour-coded motifs are further juxtaposed by the bright and vividly beautiful colours found on the island that Takagi dreams of, recreating or reliving a brief moment of transcendence with a lover he'll never again reclaim.Vital is quite an anomaly within Tsukamoto's career thus far; standing out a slower, more deliberate and more poetic work with the emphasis placed on human emotions as opposed clinical psychology. There are still the various recurring themes on display, for example, the obsession with the fragility and the limitations of the human body; something that has been explored and exploited throughout Tsukamoto's work from Tetsuo through to Tokyo Fist and beyond to Vital and A Snake of June. As I mentioned previously in this review, the pace of Vital is slow and deliberate throughout, whilst the overall tone of the film is dreamlike and filled with uncertain. Many will no doubt find it a little dull and perhaps even boring, but many others will perhaps appreciate the believable characterisations and the rich compassion and emotion that Tsukamoto brings to the script, especially when coupled with the captivating cinematography, evocative music and air of metaphysical mystery.

I normally watch films with no expectations or anticipation of what they have to offer but I wish I'd done some background reading on "Vital" before I settled down to view it. Expecting a horror film, I was left disappointed. Described as a thriller, I didn't find "Vital" particularly thrilling or attention grabbing.While the film is beautifully shot, the movie relies on mood to keep the viewer engaged with what is unrolling on the screen. In the end, though, it's a somewhat confusing meditation on death and left me feeling more than a little frustrated.6 out of 10. This is a stylish entry in Asian cinema but it lacks substance. I've no doubt it will delight some viewers but it will frustrate in equal measure.

A troubled, enigmatic amnesiac, Hiroshi(Tadanobu Asano), who lost his memory and beloved Ryôko(Nami Tsukamoto)in an accidental car crash, discovers that the one he's assigned to dissect in his medical class is her! Ikumi(Kiki), whose adulterous lover and medical professor committed suicide after she rejected his love towards her, desires Hiroshi but finds that he is overwhelmed by Ryôko's memory. Ryôko's memory unravels in Hiroshi's mind as he continues to dissect, articulate on paper every vital organ, and study her..it seems that, through this type of thorough examination, he can feel emotionally whole. There's this place he goes where Ryôko exists(imagine an ideal, idyllic beach setting or inside a forest whose beautiful, lush trees stretch endlessly towards the sky for miles)that feels so real, but it's a fabrication he will have to return from. This unhealthy obsession develops which engulfs his life..he grows more and more distant from the outside world as Ryôko takes center stage. It seems that Hiroshi was partaking in a form of sexual strangulation with Ryôko that he now continues with Ikumi, but when doing such a dangerous thing he seems to travel to the place where he's the most happy..where Ryôko awaits and wishes for him to stay. Everyone around Hiroshi are disturbed at his obsession with Ryôko's body as he often continues his dissecting work into the night causing discomfort towards the students assigned to her(he often harasses them by staring, charging at them when they clown around, or causes intense pressure when they seem to mess up)and the professors who believe he's too attached. By the time the class is over, only Ikumi remains there and that's because she loves him in an unhealthy way..it's as if she is competing, and losing, with a dead woman clinging to the hope Hiroshi will snap out of it. The question is, how do you let go when you are that close to someone? When that spirit of someone feels and seems to real that you wish to stay right where they are, how can one truly escape that? When life outside of Ryôko doesn't even have that same passion and joy, why would Hiroshi wish to leave her side? You know, this is a beautiful, challenging, and ultimately rewarding film about somehow letting go of the person you love when their memory comes rushing back to you. That overwhelming desire to hold them, love them, cherish them, and just cling them..I think, through this unusual and unique premise, that we experience those things through Hiroshi. Director Shinya Tsukamoto is quite multi-talented..he was in control of writing this very elusive work, editing it which wildly swings from reality into the fantasy created by the character Hiroshi, and beautifully photographing it. It's a stunning film, very moody and visually rich. The film does have very odd behavior by the central characters, mainly Hiroshi and Ikumi, who are dealing with their own obsessions and violent emotional tendencies and Tsukamoto doesn't hold back peering into their dementia. But, yet, despite their forays into the bizarre, this is still a very sad and effective tale of loss & acceptance that I found quite spellbinding. Very good performances from the male actors who played the fathers of Hiroshi and Ryôko, both deeply mournful of the loss of a young girl whose death was too soon.

This movie was a strange experience, I started watching what I thought was a horror movie and ended up watching a tough "hard to swallow drama".This movie should get, at least, 7 stars for originality! I never saw anything like it. The idea was genuine, the characters were creative and the set was very appropriate and perfectly matched every scene. It has a great photography, high quality images with nice shooting angles helping and transmitting the feelings and emotions connected with each character. From the technical point of view the only inferior element was the soundtrack, which didn't quite caught my ear.However, the plot and its progression is a total different subject! I had a hard time understanding where the flashbacks ended and started and this movie has lots of them! Then, the main character's individuality was very peculiar, I mean, too peculiar, it just turned my head around and made it very hard to understand what was going on, what was he feeling and, thus, where the movie was going... Depressive thoughts and activities are splattered all over the movie, the main character has a hard time distinguishing reality, imagination, memories and dreams, and so do we...From a subjective point of view, the movies theme was too depressing and it's just not my style. From an objective point of view, the plot could have been delivered in a more proper way.In spite of all flaws, the movie did entertain me and I couldn't leave my sofa until I knew how this confusing and strange movie would end.