Abraxas is a Japanese film with English subtitles and it was showcased in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2011. The second piece from independent film maker Naoki Kato, Abraxas, is about a hardcore punk guitarist who later in life becomes a Buddhist Monk. Jonen, the Buddhist Monk finds himself incredibly depressed and realizes the only way he can find happiness again in his life is to perform a concert for everyone in town. Like many Japanese movies it is slow moving but the movement does not take away from the beauty of the piece.
The sounds in this movie were the most poignant aspect of the movie and the most moving as well. The movie has a clear message about the beauty of sound and yet it doesn’t do it with the normal serene sounds we are used to hearing, instead Jonen’s thrash metal roots has us listening to some of the most high pitched sounds an electric guitar and amp can produce. The character Jonen was portrayed by the Japanese pop star Suneohair, he was able to make a stellar performance of a man searching for his meaning in his life. As a big music fan myself I found a sweetness to the overall story as I too have used music to elevate my happiness in life.
Besides the sound, Naoki Kato did an amazing job getting his actors and actresses to give real performances and the movie even had one of the best child actors I’ve ever seen and there are not many good child actors around. The other real interesting thing I found was that the movie was able to successfully blend a very serene culture of the Buddhist Monks with a very chaotic culture of punk music.
I was lucky enough to attend the second screening of the film which was the time in which the director Naoki Kato was in attendance, he made mention of how he was watching the audience to see how they would react to the culture shock, mixing the two cultures into one story and how he was glad to see we all reacted well. He also mentioned in a Q&A after the film that independent movies in Japan don’t happen very often so it was an ordeal making the film but he was so excited to see Sundance taking a chance on his film.
I enjoyed the movie a lot and I recommend this highly especially to those who have felt the impact of music on their own life. Kato mentioned he was very glad to have Suneohair in the film because Suneohair was one of those people who felt music was his life and this is the kind of movie which speaks to those that need music to survive. As of now the movie is currently being release to select audiences in Japan and there is no word as of yet if it will have any screening in the US outside of Sundance.
Stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot in the future for any news on potential release of this movie to american audiences beyond Sundance.