Subtitle Sity - Big Man Japan

Welcome to the first Subtitle Sity review! This series is a way to highlight the movies I watch whose original language is not English. Now, I understand that a good deal of you speak and read more than one language, as well as the many people who do not speak or read English and would need subtitles for it. But, I am an ignorant pleb and only speak English. So, for this review series, anything that is not in English is allowed. Honestly, that's it, the only criteria. I am a simple man. On with the review. If there was ever going to be a weird mockumentary-style movie made about a man fighting kaiju style monsters in a city, it would, of course, be made in Japan. That movie being Big Man Japan, and of course, it would also end up being weirder than I thought it was going to be. Big Man Japan is funny, and at times, a beyond weird movie about a man who the government pumps electricity into, which turns him into a huge monster-fighting version of himself. Masaru comes from a long line of monsters battlers who were all known as Big Man, with his grandfather being the most famous. Sadly for this generations' Big Man, they aren't as popular as before. The monsters of today appear less frequently, the people of Japan worry more about the damage he does to the city than being rescued and his own agent is using him to get rich. The people of Japan question and fear something that has been making them safe for years. They seem to have forgotten that the reason their lives are this way is because of the Big Man. But, it has become more of a "What have you done for me lately" scenario. Masaru's Big Man also has a failing TV show, where they use footage of his fights to sell advertisements, some of which they paint on his body. His agent is a greedy lady who doesn't pay Masaru his fair share and leaves him living in a tiny broken-down home as she lives in luxury. Things are thrown into Chaos though when a devil version of Big Man appears and challenges him to a fight promptly beating him causing a new stir of Anti-Big Man sentiment. The movie is quite funny, although a bit sad in the way he is treated. The pace of the film, highlighted by the interviews with the main character is a bit choppy as Masaru is not a quick thinker and while these slow-paced low key interviews he does for this "documentary" can be brilliant and hilarious, they also can be a bit tedious with long pauses and silences. Then there are the monsters, which seem to be designed to be as weird as possible, and in some cases as phallic as possible. They are crude and gross, with uncanny valley style faces and dangling bits. They make the movie enter a weird state that I enjoyed a lot, and seemed like an homage to the ton of giant monster-fighting anime and TV shows that Japan has to offer, but, you know, with more dick jokes. This was the weirdness level I expected from the movie, so when it took an extra step into weirder territory I was surprised. The last fight and ending to Big Man Japan comes right out of left field and is hilarious as well as being offputting. It seems like a mix of not knowing how to end a movie and running out of a budget for CGI. It looks awful, is awkward and kind of dumb, but also amazing. I really enjoyed Big Man Japan, but I do think it may not be as fun for a lot of people. So, can you handle the weird? Can you handle monsters with phallic eye penises? Do you like awkward interviews? If you answered yes to any of these, then you will get a big kick out of this movie. But if all of that nonsense sounds too weird to you, then you are probably good to skip this one.