Naisu no mori: The First Contact (Funky Forest: The First Contact) poster & wallpaper
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Susumu Terajima, Tadanobu Asano, Chizuru Ikewaki, Kazue Fukiishi, Ryo Kase ... see more see more... , Hideaki Anno , Kanji Tsuda , Masako Takahashi , Machiko Ono , Rinko Kikuchi , Andrew Alfieri , Erika Nishikado , Tsuyoshi Sakado

Taste of Tea director Katsuhito Ishii collaborates with filmmakers Shinichiro Miki and Hajime Ishimine) for this outrageous collection of surreal, short attention span non-sequiturs largely revolving ... read more read more...around Guitar Brother (Tadanobu Asano), his randy older sibling, and the pair's portly Caucasian brother. Dance numbers, pillow fights, animation, comedy, and science fiction all combine to create a unique and disorienting viewing experience featuring such highlights as an absurdist tribute to David Cronenberg, an ass-television, and a girl who fires lasers from her forehead in order to battle a floating space blob which emits spinning, spherical projectiles. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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79% liked it

1,257 ratings

Unrated, 2 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Katsuhito Ishii

Release Date: October 22, 2005

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DVD Release Date: March 18, 2008

Stats: 147 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (147)

  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 12, 2010
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Being "random" doesn't equal being funny, creative or interesting. Let this movie be a lesson for anyone thinking "random" means good.
  • 366weirdmovies
    August 1, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    Essentially, a set of absurdist short films from three different directors, sharing some of the same characters, arranged into a sort of surrealist SHORT CUTS. The experiment produces exactly what you would expect: a very mixed bag, with many segments that drag on and on and go ... read morenowhere, and a sprinkling of truly delightful moments (most notably the musical numbers and the animation).
  • lesleyanorton
    May 13, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    Ignore the synopsis on Flixster, this is a series of silly, strange or outright bizarre sketches by three Japanese directors, loosely linked by sharing the same actors/characters. It started off very badly indeed, then it grew on me and suddenly I found myself with a big grin on... read more my face. A two minute intermission with countdown and music, more grins then bemusement, a WTF or two and then it finished. If you like those late-night alternative comedy TV sketches, Japnese humour or puzzling your friends , then definitely try this. If you lke conventional plots and punchlines, then don't.


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  • cacutshaw
    January 28, 2007
    cacutshaw
    Saw this one at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and it ranks up there along with Schizopolis and a midnight showing of Army of Darkness as my favourite theater experience. Surreal, hilarious, stylish and lots of fun, this is a perfect cult film with lots of opportunity for ... read moreaudience interaction. As always Tadanobu Asano and Susumu Terajima (who is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors) were excellent.
  • eskaton666
    June 19, 2009
    eskaton666
    Delightfully bizarre, twisted, hilarious and disturbing, all in the same scene sometimes. This Japanese mish-mash of random ideas that kind of come together is only for fans of the more avant garde side of Japanese cinema. Also, the film is a lenghty one, but if you can endure ... read moreits 150 minutes of head-scratchingly strange goings on, I think you'll find its worthwhile.
  • jrmcm
    March 11, 2008
    jrmcm
    At its best when it goes all out to get stupid laughs, mainly in the second half. The Shorty Trio stands out, along with HOME ROOM!!!!!!!!!!
  • soulxside
    February 20, 2008
    soulxside
    I like Ishi films... this one wasn't my favorite, but I liked it. The first half is similar to Linklater's Waking Life and the second half throws a little bit of Cronenberg in there for good measure.

    It's an eclectic and slow-moving dream. People expecting something crazy and w... read moreild and funny will be disappointed as it's more of a meditation than anything else. There's humor here and even a bit of wild, but it's not that kind of film. It lacks an apparent message, but you are meant to get something out of it.

    The film works best if you have deep cultural knowledge of Japan - more than you could get from watching 20 or 30 Japanese films. The subtitles are also incomplete because people often talk rather fast and much of it is simply ignored.

    It's not for everyone.

View All Naisu no mori: The First Contact (Funky Forest: The First Contact) Reviews

Critic Reviews

V.A. Musetto
March 7, 2008
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

Most of the sketches fall flat. Full Review

Frank Lovece
April 14, 2008
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International

There are Bollywood movie musicals that are shorter and more coherent. Full Review

Mark Rahner
March 21, 2008
Mark Rahner, Seattle Times

To describe the film might imbue it with a coherence to which it doesn't aspire. Full Review

Dennis Harvey
February 23, 2012
Dennis Harvey, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Stephen Garrett
November 17, 2011
Stephen Garrett, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

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