It's a two-hour and change yarn about intangible alien invaders who take over human hosts in order to learn about humanity in preparation for a hostile invasion. They learn by 'taking' 'conceptions' - as in, someone's conception of ownership, or family.
Whatever they take, is gone from that person's mind - the concept itself becomes alien to them. It's a fun idea that sadly isn't really explored very well; most of the 'takings' that we see have pretty simplistic consequences.
Whatever they take, is gone from that person's mind - the concept itself becomes alien to them. It's a fun idea that sadly isn't really explored very well; most of the 'takings' that we see have pretty simplistic consequences.
Three aliens land on earth. Two of them, including a schoolgirl (Yuri Tsunematsu) who is responsible for all the carnage in the film, enrol a cynical journalist (Hiroki Hasegawa) to be their guide, as they collect conceptions and build a communicator that will allow them to call down the invasion.
The other alien takes over a cheating husband (Ryuhei Matsuda) still living with his estranged wife (Masami Nagasawa). From there most of the action is about them trying to get together, with the husband character taking the most interest in humanity, and specifically trying to understand the relationship with his wife. Things get a little more complicated, but not much, especially when the government gets involved and actively (but very ineffectually) starts tracking down and trying to eliminate the aliens.
The other alien takes over a cheating husband (Ryuhei Matsuda) still living with his estranged wife (Masami Nagasawa). From there most of the action is about them trying to get together, with the husband character taking the most interest in humanity, and specifically trying to understand the relationship with his wife. Things get a little more complicated, but not much, especially when the government gets involved and actively (but very ineffectually) starts tracking down and trying to eliminate the aliens.
Despite having a few full-on action sequences (well made, for a non-action movie, with some fun ideas) the film itself is a slow-moving drama/comedy that scores some laughs but has one fatal flaw - few of the characters actually behaves like a human being.
That's at least somewhat intentional -part of the joke- but it doesn't help the viewing experience. There's a slightly muddled message in there about what humanity has become.
But for the drama to work, the script really needs to be a lot better. The motivations of some of the characters -specifically the journalist- are completely inscrutable, and a lot of their responses to events feel off. The governmental response to the alien threat is absolutely ridiculous. Neither the dramatic elements nor the genre plotting work very well; It's very scattershot, which is something I've noticed on other lesser films by the same director.
But for the drama to work, the script really needs to be a lot better. The motivations of some of the characters -specifically the journalist- are completely inscrutable, and a lot of their responses to events feel off. The governmental response to the alien threat is absolutely ridiculous. Neither the dramatic elements nor the genre plotting work very well; It's very scattershot, which is something I've noticed on other lesser films by the same director.
It's enjoyable overall -the technical aspects are all top notch, except maybe a too-intrusive soundtrack- but way too long for such slim pickings. What Kurosawa is trying to communicate feels a bit muddled and doesn't feel particularly deep, especially with a very predictable, but very sappy twist at the end.
Kairo, his apocalypse by ghosts film, is one of my favorite horror movies (and definitely the best J-horror film ever made). It's a shame his alien apocalypse feels so half-assed.
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