reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen 

If the person you loved tried to kill herself, would you want to know why? When Atsumi’s (Haruka Ayase) suicide attempt leaves her comatose, her lover, Koichi (Takeru Sato), is eager to reach out to her. There is a medical procedure that can help him. With new technology, Koichi can communicate with Atsumi through ‘sensing’, a process that will allow him to enter her mind and speak to her directly.

 He is unprepared for what he finds, however. In her mind, Atsumi is obsessed with her work as a horror-themed Manga artist and the world outside of their apartment building is smothered in fog. Worse than that, the things from Atsumi’s drawings are making terrifying appearances in her mind. And, when Koichi finishes his ‘sensing’ experience, some of the apparitions continue to haunt him.

If he and Atsumi have any hope of waking her, they will have to delve into the fog of her subconscious and confront the horrors that lurk there.

Real is a conglomeration of many genres, but at its heart it is a story about two people who love each other against monumental difficulties and who will do whatever it takes to protect one another. Despite this, the romance is not over-done. Koichi and Atsumi have been together long enough that their relationship doesn’t have the giddy excitement of new love. Their bond is more sedate, but all the stronger for it as they can rely on one another.

With the two lead characters carrying most of the story, the film’s atmosphere almost becomes a third entity. At times the scenes in Atsumi’s mind are beautiful, the screen rippling as Koichi’s consciousness merges to hers. The illustrations that Atsumi is so desperate to finish are gorgeous as well, also serving to carry the story along and unlock secrets that have long been repressed. In other instances, though, Atsumi’s mind is a horrific place to be, with brutally slain bodies appearing. The bodies too, carry the story; particularly the apparition of a little boy who refuses to go away.

While Real explores a fascinating premise, it moves quite slowly. At first it seems that Atsumi’s depression over work is the problem, but the truth is psychologically deeper than that, and it takes time to reach the real issue. The film would have been stronger if it had stream-lined some of the plot-points.

Ultimately though, Real is an enchanting look at the strength of the bond between people who love each other. Haruka Ayase and Takeru Sato do a suburb job of portraying two people who are trying to reach a new understanding of each other since the old one has failed.

Reviewed by Jamie Marriage

Vicious, viscous and Australian to the extreme, Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart is a wonderfully hard-boiled paranormal action story full of mythology and gritty realism.

A week after slicing his finger with a medical phial of unknown content destined for the incinerator Michael Devlin busts in to his professor’s office to complain only to find him in the act of being murdered by a brutish creature of unnatural strength and speed. Waking up later in a morgue, assumed dead, with a powerful hunger and even more powerful questions Michael sets out to find out what is happening to him and why his friends keep being brutally slaughtered.

Meanwhile Detective Senior Constable Jennifer Morris is brought in to investigate the homicide of the professor and Michael, and of the two police officers sent after the murderer, before being taken off the case without explanation. True to her nature Jen cannot just let this go and starts investigating against orders.

In short order both Jen and Michael are running parallel after the same mysterious murderers in a violent game of hunter verses hunted through Sydney’s vast metropolis. There is far more going on than just a medical research deal turned sinister.

Not skimping on grisly detail or cultural references Path of Night drags the reader deep into a gut-wrenching storyline of everything that makes this genre great; fast-paced action, lashings of gore and sexual intrigue, political corruption and characters evolving – figuratively and literally – as the story progresses. A heavy focus of the story is the mythological nature of early horror creatures, the vampire and werewolf primarily, and provides intriguing possibilities into the existence of such horrors.

The novel jumps primarily between four characters; Michael, Jen, political powerhouse Luttrell, and monster hunter, Hellyer. Here and there the narrative will move to minor characters, but given the visceral nature of this tale, they have a habit of not staying around for long. Given the frequency of movement though Path of Night doesn’t feel disjointed or confused like many novels do when given this treatment. In fact the varying perspectives assist in fleshing out the narrative and make it easier to follow.

This isn’t a pretty novel. It’s raw and violent, sexual and powerful, chaotic and mesmerising. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun!

Buy

ISBN: 978-0-9874000-8-6 (ebook)

Print RRP: $14.95 

Ebook RRP $7.99

October 2013

by Joelene Pynnonen

In 2019 Japan, freedom of expression and thought are under attack. The government has created an armed force to censor printed material. Only libraries are immune to the brutal Media Betterment Committee. Following the 1999 vigilante attack on a Hino library, libraries have created their own paramilitary force to defend and protect both libraries and the people who wish to use them.

Iku Kasahara (Nana Eikura) has wanted to join the Library Defence Force since a member of the organisation came to her aid against the Media Betterment Committee, saving a much anticipated new book for her. Her passion for freedom of expression and fearlessness are not enough to pull her through recruitment however, especially when she has a tendency to doze off during lectures. Training proves to be even more difficult for her under the command of drill instructor Atsushi Dojo (Junichi Okada), who is harder on her than on the other recruits.

Library Wars is an entertaining film that will keep you engaged throughout, but for unexpected reasons. The distinctive narrative elements that should have pulled together to make Library Wars compelling were over-shadowed here by more generic ones. Based on Hiro Arikawa’s series of young adult novels, Library Wars is lighter than the trailer suggests. While the film is marketed as an action movie with a philosophical bent and a bit of romance, it’s closer to a romantic comedy with a lashing of action and a dash of anti-censorship ideals.

The plot-line, which is so fascinating and relevant in this age of technology where everyone seems to be either on the side of extreme censorship or extreme media tolerance, is relegated to being a vehicle for the exploration of characters and their relationships. What could have been a gritty and unflinching look at the nature of freedom of expression and governmental control being rationalised as protection for citizens is rendered much simpler. The Media Betterment Committee is reduced to the faceless enemy, without the nuances that a story like this demands.

Despite the ethics being set in black and white without shades of grey, Library Wars is well worth watching. As an action/romantic comedy it works. All of the characters are brilliantly realised and have wonderful chemistry together. Kasahara and Dojo in particular. Their relationship is not something that happens all at once for them, or for us. Initially, they are genuinely at odds with one another, and it comes through to the audience as well. Until they begin to warm to each other, it’s hard to envision them as a couple. Afterwards, it’s hard not to.

The action picks up in the second half of the movie, balancing out the romantic plot and keeping the film at a fast pace. The combat scenes are starkly reminiscent of war zones. It brings a sense of urgency and desperation to the plight of the Library Defence Force.

Once your expectations of the film are adjusted, Library Wars is a fun movie with some brilliant performances. The characters are wonderfully drawn and emotionally compelling and the action keeps the film from becoming too saccharine.