When I was a kid most of my time outside was spent looking for treasures, solving mysteries, pretending to be somewhere else. I remember how I once found a big pile of coins hidden in the ground in front of my school - coins from the fifties, so they had no value. Another time we found a skeleton in the forrest and ran home to tell our parents. It was a deer of course. I lived close to a castle, so the grounds was filled with history, old rusty metal objects and maybe most important: stories, lots of them. One was about the secret tunnel leading from the castle to... I don't know where. Maybe some kind of escape route. Everyone knew about it but no one knew if it was real. It was a constant search for something else, something that could trigger our imagination.
Demeking is about the search for something. Whatever it may be. In a bit of a false advertising Demeking is sold as a Kaiju movie. And yeah, some parts of it is Kaiju, but it's mostly a coming-of-age story, set between 1970 and 1972 in Japan. Kohei Kiyasu is Kame, an older kid spending a lot of time with some younger boys, maybe because he doesn't have any other friends - or maybe because he's a bit naive and fits better with the younger guys. One day he and his little troupe of explorers meets Hachiya (Takeshi Nadagi), the local madman - or well, maybe not mad, but he's just not like everyone else. He talks about Demeking and how he will fight this... monster. One day he leaves the little town they're all living in and leaves a map and a letter to Kame and his friends. They go out on a treasure hunt and discover a prophecy, Hachiya's propechy. In 2019 a giant monster will attack earth, a huge snail called Demeking...
I honestly thing Demeking is a brilliant drama, a very touching and sometimes arty story about growing up, about dreams and wishes. It's simple in it's storytelling, the characters are on the surface very uncomplicated and the visual style of the film is very traditional. What makes it so powerful is how it triggers the imagination, it really never give any clear answers and the ending is as open as it can be. But wow, that what really gets my brain working. I want to having something to think about afterwards - sometimes it's frustrating, but here it's just very humane, very poetic. Combined with fine acting and intelligent dialogue, Demeking is a fantastic little movie. I say little, because it never pretends to be something else. Well, except when the marketing comes around. But I would blame that on the distributors.
Sure, there's a huge monster attack in this film. The monster Demeking is so awesome. But it's not what it seems, so be prepared. But still, after all is said and done... maybe our characters are on to something anyway? It might just be the imagination of a couple of dreamy guys who's grown up with Tokusatus shows on TV and Godzilla and Gamera in cinema. But on the other hand, it might not be that at all. I'm not gonna write anything more, but I just want you to understand that this is not a monster movie. This is a childhood drama. And I'm so damn curious how these characters turned out as adults.
That is maybe the true power of Demeking, the characters continues to live on outside the movie, outside the Manga it's based upon. That's magic, my friends. That's true movie magic.
"In 2019 a giant monster will attack earth, a huge snail called Demeking..."
Ehhhhhh...what now...?
Snail?
As in Escargot, usually served in garlic butter....?(yummy!)
But it´s a coming of age/childrens story.....primus motor not important.
"What makes it so powerful is how it triggers the imagination, it really never give any clear answers and the ending is as open as it can be."
I´m starting to think about Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) or something....but that ain´t it?
"Sure, there's a huge monster attack in this film. The monster Demeking is so awesome. But it's not what it seems, so be prepared. But still, after all is said and done... maybe our characters are on to something anyway?"
So.....something happens to them?
Well....it does sound interesting, good review and thanks Fred, never heard about this one.
Posted by: Megatron | March 19, 2014 at 23:26
I can't tell you anything, it's worth watching and even if it as one awesome monster attack scene it's not a monster movie. Still worth watching!
Posted by: Fred Anderson | March 20, 2014 at 06:06
Yeah....I understand that much....at least.
Posted by: Megatron | March 20, 2014 at 23:05