Here are some foreign movies or television show you can watch if you’re in lockdown, as we are.

DOROHEDORO
netflix.com

My new favorite anime is Dorohedoro (ドロヘドロ), based on the Japanese manga series by Q Hayashida.

The series is about a lizardhead man called Caiman and his friend Nikaido. They try and uncover what happened to Caiman and how and why he’s a lizard.

I haven’t read the comic book, but looking at some of the art and pages online, I can tell you that Q Hayashida’s style is very unique and when they adapted it for animation, they had to streamline some things – even though the animation is still very detailed and very well animated.

As for the series, it’s action-packed. Genre-wise, it’s all over the place… from punk-rock to comedy to food anime to straight-up horror.

Although I did really enjoy the series, I do have some minor complaints about Dorohedoro. Despite being 12 long episodes, it still felt unfinished by the time you watch the finale – it was all to set up Season 2! There are way too many episodes that has nothing to do with the main storyline. For example, there is a cooking contest episode and a baseball game episode… out of left field, to use the phrase. There are also too many episodes devoted to each character – I don’t need to know the backstory to Noi. I think sometime it’s better to leave things a mystery.

Overall, I love the art and the action and the strange world’s rules.

You can watch Dorohedoro on Netflix. Netflix also has an exclusive to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2045 (worst title ever), which is on my next watchlist.

About Dorohedoro:

Amnesiac Caiman seeks to undo his lizard head curse by killing the sorcerer responsible, with his friend Nikaido’s help. In the Hole, that’s a threat.

CLIMAX (2018)
a24films.com

Gaspar Noé’s films are not for everybody. You have to keep that in mind, as you watch his latest film, Climax. The movie is just a very long dance sequence into hell. There is not much of a story here, just a long journey … told through dancing. They based the film on a true story, so keep that in mind.

The dance sequence (many of them as one-take) are amazing, and the intro soundtrack of a remixed Cerrone’s “Supernature”, is very catchy.

I’ve seen all of Noe’s film, except for his debut I Stand Alone, and can tell you that his films are for art house fans. It’s not feel-good or have coherent storyline. His films are all about raw, primal emotion… from sex to ultra violence. Love it or hate it, you have to admit he has a certain vision to his films.

The first time I heard of Gaspar Noe, was through his breakout international hit, Irréversible (which I own on DVD). The movie is told in reverse, but unfortunately, at the time, everyone said it was too similar or had copied Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

Anyway, if you want to watch Climax, it’s available to stream on Amazon Prime.

About Climax:

From director Gaspar Noé (Irreversible; Enter the Void; Love) comes a hypnotic, hallucinatory, and ultimately hair-raising depiction of a party that descends into delirium over the course of one wintry night. In Climax, a troupe of young dancers gathers in a remote and empty school building to rehearse. Following an unforgettable opening performance lit by virtuoso cinematographer Benoît Debie (Spring Breakers; Enter the Void) and shot by Noé himself, the troupe begins an all-night celebration that turns nightmarish as the dancers discover they’ve been pounding cups of sangria laced with potent LSD. Tracking their journey from jubilation to chaos and full-fledged anarchy, Noé observes crushes, rivalries, and violence amid a collective psychedelic meltdown. Starring Sofia Boutella (Atomic Blonde) and a cast of professional dancers, Climax is Noé’s most brazen and visionary statement yet.