What film got you hooked?

A continuing feature that asks prominent cinephiles "What film got you hooked on Japanese cinema?"

Akira by Stéphanie Trépanier

It's so difficult to pin-point one film in particular that got me hooked on Japanese cinema, as everything is always a process. So I thought I could use an organic metaphor, as it is done so often in the Japanese language...

1) The Roots: Most of us from Québec' generation X and even those a bit younger were raised on a healthy daily ration of Japanese-made Anime dubbed in French. Personally, I was manically watching Rémi (all of us have been brainwashed by the theme song to the point where we can't help but sing along Je suis sans famille et je m'appelle Rémi...), Astro le petit robot (Astro Boy), Les Mystérieuses cités d'or (The Mysterious Cities of Gold) and Lady Oscar (The Roses of Versailles). Goldorak and Albator were also frequent watches in the house thanks to the little brother.

2) The Trunk: When my 9-years old brother rented Akira one day (I still can't believe my mom let him, I guess she didn't know what we were getting into), my 11-years-old brain was just blown away. I was stunned by its amazing graphic qualities, fast-paced action, futuristic Japanese setting and apocalyptic story. Its soundtrack was pretty amazing too. I remember having nightmares that night of Tetsuo's body/blob of flesh expanding and destroying everything in its way.

Its subjects of furthering psychic abilities, youth delinquency, military control and urban chaos, as well as the destructive obsession for power, among many others, stayed with me for years and helped shape my outlook in so many ways. I've gone back to the film so many times since then, enjoying it more and more as I grow older.

Katsuhiro Oromo's work is truly one of the masterpieces of contemporary cinema, not just Anime. I've been hoping Oromo would eventually go back to it and remake Akira in a 2-parts version that would stick more to the manga, which goes so much farther in its story and themes. But I guess instead we'll be served a live-action American version in a few years (but in 2 parts!). Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best!

3) Its Branches: Every year since 97 I've been attending the Fantasia Festival. Its superb programming gave me the chance to be amazed, scared shitless and quirked by such films as Perfect Blue, Ring, Millenium Actress, Metropolis, Suicide Club, Tamala 2010, Ju-on, One Missed Call, Tokyo Godfathers, Kamikaze Girls, Mind Game, Otakus in Love, Survive Style 5+, The Taste of Tea, Funky Forest, Strange Circus, Death Note, Exte: Hair Extension, Hazard, Memories of Matsuko and Tekkon Kinkreet.

4) Its Leaves: The first leaf of that tree would be Adrift in Tokyo, a quirky human fable and a walking road-movie by Satoshi Miki, Evokative Films' first Japanese film acquisition. I hope this tree will grow to be fruitful in the coming years!

Stéphanie Trépanier is the founder of the new film distribution company Evokative Films, which will distribute International genre films on DVD and through limited theatrical releases across Canada. She is also the Director of Communications of Montréal's Fantasia International Film Festival.