Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into producing a movie? 'One Cut of the Dead' gives you that insight and goes beyond by showing us how tensions run high when artistic vision is stifled by the practicalities of making a film.
‘One Cut of the Dead’ is a film within a film that we are presented with on the outset. Concerning the production of a zombie film, the story revolves around the cast and crew facing off the walking dead, and the director in pursuit of creating a hyper-realistic survival movie. This storyline concludes with a final girl making her way to the end by hacking her way through the people, and the undead around her.
At the end of the first act it feels like the film pulls the rug out from under us as we are thrown back in time 1 month, where we meet the director who is being pursued to create the low budget zombie movie. Quickly, it becomes apparent that it is only a television project that is being made for a new channel, and we are soon introduced to the world of film-making. After the shift in tone, there isn’t too much time to ask unanswered questions from the first act as we are presented with the minutiae of table-reads and production fiascos.
The film really hits its stride at the point where the audience is exposed to the variety of characters that make up the making of a film, in front of and behind the camera. Covering somewhat clichéd yet real characters, we are invited to observe and laugh at the ridiculous personalities that exist on the set – the artistic personality wishing to preserve some noble notion behind the script, an annoyed director, eager camera crew and even a drunk being pushed along through the one-shot take.
As the third act begins, the film ‘re-sets’. We are back at the start of the film, exposed to a different point of view where we can observe the production of the zombie film. As we see the crew scurry around behind the camera, moving things along and dealing with last minute hiccups, we can appreciate the final product all the more. The resulting comedy hits even harder as the film has been constructed in such a way that by this point you believe you are watching a real crew make the movie. As we the viewing audience have previously been made to believe that ‘the movie’ is over at the end of act one, we have already suspended our disbelief and have bough into the worries and concerns of the characters we see on the screen. As a film about making film, ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is one of the more successful at creating a sense of reality even though it is played for laughs and intended as a comedy.
The cast of the film has done a great job in reflecting over-the-top personalities that can emerge in the making of a creative project. Takayuki Hamatsu plays the director, an individual tasked with making a quick project and later forced into portraying the director character within the zombie flick he’s making. He approaches the film as best he can, yet experiences an outburst through portraying the director, revealing his true emotions towards the capricious actors. Hamatsu’s character is ultimately happy when he gets to share a moment with his daughter, also a film enthusiast/aspiring film-maker, behind the camera as they cooperate to resolve production mishaps at a moments notice, adding an additional thread to the film about a father-daughter relationship.
The film largely revolves around Hamatsu, yet he is supported by a number of outstanding performers. Yuzuki Akiyama and Kazuaki Nagaya play well known actors who display humorous caricatures of what entitled and demanding actors look like. Also, Harumi Shuhama plays Hamatsu's wife as a character navigating her way back onto a movie set as an actor, leading to a further insight to the world of acting and how that can impact a personality. Manabu Hosoi plays another actor, focusing on another type of persona - a drunk that struggles to get by, yet is literally hoisted up by the director in order to complete his work. There are more minor characters that accentuate the pitfalls of live television and illustrate how swiftly one has to be able to adapt in order to successfully lead the filming to its conclusion.
‘One Cut of the Dead’ evokes a sense of reality by focusing on the caricatures that exist in real life, letting the viewer forget that we are actually watching the making of a movie within a movie. The director, Shinichirou Ueda, has done an immaculate job at combining comedy with displaynig the practical aspects of making a movie. The film’s third act is its first act from a behind-the-camera point of view, showcasing exactly how much work goes into the making of a film, allowing the viewer to appreciate the effort and ingenuity that forms the final product. It also plays excellently for comedic value as we get to see set problems being resolved in real time and appreciate what we saw in act one, without caring that we may have seen those shots before. Additionally, we get to examine how some of the film elements are vastly different in how we choose to interpret them by knowing why some of the film choices were made due to the production.
Overall, ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is a great comedy that is over-the-top, yet manages to pant a vivid picture when it comes to reflecting the work that goes into the making of a film.
Score: 3/4
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