Oh Puppeteers...

Double Suicide(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
Japanese melodrama at it's finest? I'm not quite sure if you would label it that, but yeah, the overacting, which could be annoying to some, was simply astounding and lent a melodramatic tone to the film. I guess the acting could be viewed as theatrical since this film is supposed to be puppet theater, but the film is too cinematic to be labeled as theatrical. This film was pretty incredible. It's experimental tendencies were quite audacious, but it's whole puppeteer "gimmick" became a little overused. It's amusing and ingenious at first, but it ends up hindering the finale, at least for me. I'd imagine the conclusion would be more emotionally engaging if there was not as much of it beforehand. The puppeteer aspect did add a fatalistic layer to the proceedings, however. I'd imagine down the line, when the film has settled in my mind and stomach, labeling it a masterpiece, but for now, I'm labeling it a near-masterpiece. I'm definitely going to need to check out some more of his stuff.
***1/2 out of ****