Rent Survive Style 5+ (2004)

Surviable lots of Style, these are good plus points... - Survive Style 5+ review by Strovey

Anyone who reads my opinions on films will understand that my personal opinion on surreal, arthouse-style films is fairly low. I can tolerate them but with no real story and random weirdness seemingly placed into the run time for the sake of weirdness my tolerance wears thin rapidly.

I am pleased to write that for all the bizarre, exaggerated, weirdness in a high colour palette on ‘Planet Surreal’ that is Survive Style 5+ I enjoyed my dip into this nuttiness.

What won me over is the stories do have a point and are trying to get a message, obscure and strange as they are the message is there even if you have to look fairly hard for it. So many other types of these films are often weird for weird's sake. This film whatever faults it may be, is not made just to be strange.

The film comes from a background of commercial making and it shows. Bright vivid visuals, characters that live on the edge of realism and can break the laws of normal life when needed but sell what they are selling.

The biggest misstep throughout the run time is probably British actor Vinnie Jones who despite not speaking Japanese and being told to be like his characters in the Lock Stock and Snatch just seems like a ‘we can get Vinnie Jones’ casting. I kept thinking ‘can’t he act any other way’?

All the other actors bring their characters to life in fun and entertaining ways and the film, although getting saggy for a few beats near the end, zips along at a good pace and ties everything up neatly at the end. Which for a surreal, bizarre film is definitely a blessing.

If you like weird Japanese films with likable but strange characters and situations Survive Style 5+ is for you but if films that seemingly make little or no sense for long lengths of their running time annoy you then I would understand why this might not be your cup of tea.