Review of Moon Child (2003) by David D — 26 Oct 2009

[font=Helv][size=2]Hi gang and welcome to my rant about [i]Moon Child[/i] but more so, my rant about uneducated critics attempting to critique a film that they simply didn't understand. By this point, I'm sure plenty of you have read the reviews, summaries and usual B.S. about [i]Moon Child[/i] so I'll spare you the plot break down and get to the meat of the review.

First off, as you can see, I gave this film a 9/10 rating. A stretch? Clearly some would think so, but let's discuss the film and some of the complaints that I've read thus far from other critics who are bashing away. Before we even get into that though, let's bear in mind that most people who critique film think it's cool to give bad ratings...that it's what you're supposed to do and that only those 2 or 3 Hollywood blockbuster dramas released during the year are worthy of their fanatical ravings. Yeah, I'm a little bitter today and wanna-be critics (not that I'm not a wanna be critic myself...touché) are driving me crazy for the last 15-20 films I've been researching online.

Ok...back to [i]Moon Child[/i]...

First off, this film is NOT...say it with me please...[i]This film is [u]not[/u] an action or horror film[/i].

One more time...

[i]This film is [b][u]not[/u][/b] an action or horror film[/i].

Everyone with me still? Good. This film, while it does include a vampire...while it does include "shoot-em up" scenes...while it does include yakuza...is not ABOUT any of those things. They are all simply there to move along the main focus of the film which is so simple I fail to understand why everyone finds it to be so complex. The film is about relationships, aging and growing up (mind you, I use aging in reference to age and "growing up" in reference to behavior). Sho is our main character and the film is following he and his friends through their exploits - ups and downs, etc. Perhaps the most engaging part of the film was the symbolism used throughout to try and keep the viewer focused on what the film was truly about...which obviously wasn't juvenile enough to keep some other critics on the right path. Let's talk a little bit about the vampire, Kei.

Why was Kei in this film that, otherwise, was a pretty normal film? While a major character in the film, he is there mainly for the purpose of contrasting eternal youth with the aging and growing up of the rest of the clique. He's not there to scare you, me or Sally down the street. The intent of having Kei as a character isn't to add horror to the film, it's to add depth, and it succeeds. So many reviewers have referenced this as a Japanese Action/Horror adventure...why? Please answer this. Because there's a vampire in the film? Honestly, does the presence of a vampire make it a horror film if the vampire doesn't do anything to add fright to the film? Can anyone who watched this say that they got a "creepy feeling" watching Kei draw blood the few times he did during the film? If you did, lighten up - if you didn't, stop calling this horror. Aside from the vampire, there's nothing else to classify this as horror.

Now let's talk about whether or not this can be classified as an "action" film. This is much more possible than horror, and I'll agree that some of the film would lead you to believe that it is about the action and effects but [b]not so[/b] I say! Come now, let's not be so naive as to not look deeper. There's action in the film but it doesn't stop the fact that the film is ABOUT Sho and his clique. It's not about the action, it's about the personal relationships, feelings and tragedies befalling this young [i](sometimes lost)[/i] man. So what's the deal with the action? Well...that's really pretty simple actually. It's simply showing the life that these people live and what they do with their time. In the movie "Rounders", they play cards but I doubt anyone will disagree this is a dramatic film more than a strategy of playing Texas Hold 'Em. In "The Godfather" pretty much every character works for the mafia and there's several killings, shooting, etc yet I find it pretty unlikely anyone is going to say that "The Godfather" falls into the genre of "Action". Those are two completely different examples but not so much. I'm just trying to make a point here...if you get my point, good, if you don't, stop reading because I'm clearly not going to get through to you anyway. Post a flame if you want.

Ultimately, [i]Moon Child[/i] is well thought-out, well put together dramatic and moving film about life, death, decisions we make and consequences for those decisions. It's about the innocense of youth and the fear of aging and growing up. I don't care if the two main actors are J-Rock Stars, it doesn't take away from the fact that they did well enough. I won't say the film is flawless. The acting isn't the best at some points but all-in-all they did well. Anyway, 9/10 for [i]Moon Child[/i] and here's wishing the haters out there lighten up a bit - seriously, it's ok to like a film, even as a critic.

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