Survive Style 5+ (2004)

Wonderful character development!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I am not usually a big fan of experimental films but this movie is now one of my all time favorites. This movies has everything; action, comedy, horror, romance, philosophy... you name it. With 5 original and different stories to follow, even if you don't like one aspect of this film, another is sure to catch your fancy.Being a Japanese film this movie has the trademark Japanese type humor, so if you are into random comedy, you should enjoy this film. Even if thats not your style of humor I recommend you check out this movie just as a refreshing change from the typical Hollywood styleMost important though, just have fun with this film; I have read reviews that try to analyze and put meaning to the different events of this film. Why do some people always need to find a moral to every story? I suppose there are ideas to be taken away from this movie, but don't try and analyze it too much, just enjoy it.

Definitely one of my favorites!There are so many creative and innovative ideas and genuine rip-off's of clichés. A real fun to watch. And the stunning art style ... never seen a so detailed and thought-out flick like this one. Even when you watching this film a second time you still might get lost in figuring out all these details. Music was also perfectly used; a 100% match with the art style (something like Rock/Pop ...(?).. well, you'll get it when you see it) Even the slower and moderate background music (simple piano chords), which was used in the middle of the film for quite a long time, was also a consummate choice. The highlight, alongside the art style, of this movie was definitely characters and acting. Every one of them really stand out. Some of the reviews complained about a cliché-kind of presentation of Vinnie Jones. You know, this was intentionally; hinting at the cliché image of Gaikokujin (foreigners) in japan. It is just an amazing performance of the entire cast.If i happen to see this movie presented in an art exhibition, i wouldn't be surprised at all. A real masterpiece, though some might only like it, but not love it, as i do ... well, too bad! ;)

First, a brief advice for those who haven't seen the film: expect bizarreness, randomness, random bizarreness, exaggerated randomness, and exaggerated bizarreness. However, beyond the exaggerated random bizarreness, the film doth have meanings that we can take away. It has style and substance, albeit a lot of style. FINAL VERDICT: highly recommended if you don't mind bizarre exaggerated randomness.The rest of my review provides an analysis of the meaning behind the lushly colorful sets and the exaggerated bizarreness. It will be most helpful to readers who have already viewed the film.As first glance, "Survival Style 5+" would seem a totally bizarre film-going experience. Indeed, few movies can claim to feature the following exaggerated acts:-a hot wife who visualizes a complete "speedy" internet commercial in her head, which uses olympic sprinters to compete in how "speedy" they can cum on the field by having sex.-a dead wife who breathes fire to light her husband's cigarette.-a middle-aged father who permanently turns into a bird by undergoing hypnosis. -an executive who answers an "important" phone call from his wife during business hours; "What is it?" He asks, and then his face shows great concern as he repeats after his wife: "What, the bathroom lights are out!"-an assassin asking a cooked broccoli what is its function in life.These are just a few examples to gear up your expectations for the randomness in the film. However as the film progresses, it becomes evident that it has meanings more than meet the eye. Why when the man wants to kill his wife, he can never succeed, but as soon as he retracts the intention, she is really dead? Why when the same wife cooks a full meal for the man, he is not pleased, but at the end he is happy to accept a less full meal from her? Why does the woman in commercial business run after her lost recordings, only to stop before she reaches it with a sigh: "I'm so stupid?"To me, this film illustrates the basic lessons learned in life through these wildly random events, and it all ties up at the end. The wife is not able to please the man with her cooking at first because she is feeding him what she wants to feed him, not what he wants to eat. Later, when she adjusts the food to his liking, both he and she are more satisfied. At first, the man is repeatedly killing his wife because he is a killer and that's what he is supposed to do. Even though he fails every time, he just repeats the same thing over and over again without thinking. He can never succeed killing her because the more we want something, the harder it seems to obtain. However when he finally has no intention of killing her any more, she is taken from him forever. How ironic. This incident also illustrates the inevitability of consequences from our actions: the man had hired a hit-man to kill his wife, and it comes back to haunt him. Therefore the man's action is responsible for his wife's death.Furthermore, the woman in commercial business is a workaholic. She has no personal life, and her husband detests her work. On Christmas eve, she is running with all her strength to retrieve missing work. As she races past the holiday decorations and Santa on the street, it finally hit her: she has been living in vain; on this day of celebration, she has nothing to celebrate and no one to celebrate with. And what about the band of thieves? During a near-death situation, two of them finally come out with their feelings, reinforcing the notion that tragedy brings people closer. As for the bird dad, he didn't turn into a bird without a purpose. It is a statement about coming to terms with who we are and who our neighbors are; we need to co-exist with people who are different from us, and it begins with accepting who we are and who they are.Although this review has concentrated on the film's meaning, I must take a moment to comment on the wildly imaginative visual style. This movie is a visual feast full of vibrant colors. Along the same style, the film definitely has its share of random, exaggerated situations. Why would the director take this exaggerated approach to illustrate the lessons of life, you might ask. The answer lies in the commercial expert Yoko's reply to her boss' criticism about the offbeat nature of her presentation: "You have to make something entertaining. Otherwise, people will not watch it," she says. Her bosses are pressing her to make another dull and straight-forward presentation; they think that spoon-feeding the audience is the only way for the us to grasp their intended meaning. Well, I am confident that most people who see this film will agree that Yoko's offbeat commercials would be more effective than any boring standard commercial. By taking the same offbeat, exaggerated approach to make this film, the director is trusting our ability to grasp the essence of his intentions, and we should be thankful for such filmmakers who have enough faith in their audience to take chances with a deliberately creative offering.

By far one of the oddest, yet most brilliant movies of 2004. Five separate stories led by each story's own bizarre set of characters, end up tying together in a set of unusual consequences. Fantastic Cinematography, characterization, and story. This movie is truly one of kind.Other movies containing the basic storyline of character's lives tying together in unusual consequences, such as "Magnolia," can't compare to the charm Survive Style 5+ has. From director, Gen Sekiguchi, who directed commercials of his own (those who have seen the movie know what I'm referring to) in Japan prior to Survive Style 5+. The movie contains brilliant colors, especially in Aman's mansion. Magnificent colors of bright blues, reds, and greens make the movie worth turning your head for straight from the beginning.Some of the characters include Aman (Tadanobu Asano) who is fantastic in the role of a silent killer. Murdering his wife only to have her stirring in her grave for revenge. A game show hit called "Viva Friends" hosted by an awkward man with strange behavior who is able to hypnotize his audience, only to be murdered by a foreign hit man (Vinnie Jones).An everyday family having an obsession with the game show "Viva Friends" which only leads to their father being hypnotized into thinking he is a bird. Upon the hypnotists death, the dad is unable to recover from his hypnotism, and is forced to be bird-dad from then on.A young group of miscreants thieving neighborhood houses while still entertaining those watching the movie with their humorous conversations, and relationships between the trio. Finally a women named Yoko who creates commercials for several companies such as one led by Kazama, the Advertising Company President (Shinichi Chiba) that distributes aspirin pills. Her commercials have a bizarre joke tone to them, and most of the commercials end up being rejected due to the lack of understanding of what the product actually does for the consumer.How the stories pull off tying each other together is truly brilliant. Definitely a great ending the movie deserved, but I'll let you see that for yourself. Anyone who can laugh at bizarre situations, and conversations will love the dialogue and the movie altogether. 8.5/10