Variety is reporting that Viz Pictures has acquired North American rights to Funky Forest: The First Contact, a surrealistic live action feature directed by Katsuhito Ishii (The Taste of Tea), and commercial/music video helmers Shunichiro Miki and Hajime Ishimine. The two-and-one-half hour film contains 21 loosely connected sequences that, in the words of Variety, 'occasionally intersect, but scarcely hint at any game plan.' Dennis Harvey, who reviewed the film for Variety, also noted that the film's 'resistance to thematic or narrative logic renders viewers thoroughly -- but not unpleasantly -- bewildered,' before concluding that while Funky Forest 'is nobody's idea of a commercial sureshot...(it) will no doubt accrue a cult following on DVD' -- and judging from the number of clips from the film already posted on YouTube, it is well on its way to cult film status.
Viewers who enjoyed the humorous surrealistic touches in Ishii's delightful The Taste of Tea (2004 -- also licensed by Viz Pictures) will recognize many of the cast members from that film in Funky Forest (2006) as Ishii is evidently developing a 'stock' company of favorite actors who suit his unique filmmaking style. Hideaki Anno, the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and his wife Moyoco Anno, whose manga Happy Mania is published here by Tokyopop, also play prominent roles in
With the acquisition of Funky Forest: The First Contact it is clear that Viz Pictures is creating its own niche in the live action Asian cinema market. In addition to films that tie in directly to Viz Media properties such as the recently announced Death Note live action movies, Viz Pictures is also importing a variety of other films outside the traditional martial arts, gangster and horror genres that have dominated Asian imports here in the U.S., films that range from feel-good comedies like Hula Girls to the cutting-edge, unclassifiable, but thoroughly enjoyable films of Katsuhito Ishii.
