New trailer for Hitoshi Matsumoto's "Symbol" sheds no light on film's plot

by Chris MaGee

I hate it when you watch a trailer for a film and it basically gives you the entire plot of the film edited down to 2-minutes. I mean, if I already know what the film's going to be about from start to finish then what's the point of me dropping $13 to catch it on the big screen? Trailers should give you just enough of the plot to get you hooked in, just enough of the action so it leaves you wanting more. A good trailer will have you happily paying to catch the film in the theatre. Now on the very opposite end of the trailer scale from those that give every damn little thing away you have a trailer like this new one for Hitsohi Matsumoto's "Symbol".

As we already reported Matsumoto's follow-up to his 2007 comedy "Dainpponjin (Big Man Japan)" will be making its international premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness programme next month; but even in the wriote up on TIFF's site we don't learn much more about the plot of the film that was known before. Matsumoto plays a man who must escape from "inside" (although "inside" what isn't clear). There are cherubs that appear out of walls, there's a Mexican wrestler named "Escargot Man" and now in this new trailer there's a fat guy sitting surrounded by a pack of dogs.... and that, my friends, seems to be the only thing we do know for sure about "Symbol". I'm not sure if this is getting me excited to see the film or has frustrated me beyond the point of caring. Judge for yourself by heading over to Nippon Cienma where they have the trailer embedded.