Review of Spring and Chaos (1996) by Alex H — 20 Apr 2011

Spring and Chaos is the hyper-impressionistic, narratively disjointed, and wildly spaced-out biopic of Kenji Miyazawa, revered Japanese poet and children's author. The plot, strung out haphazardly among a series of not-necessarily-chronological vignettes, is rather incomprehensible unless payed very close attention to. But this is one of those movies in which the plot itself quickly becomes beside the point, in the best way possible.

In the movie (perhaps in real life), Kenji-san is the ideal romantic dreamer: innocently clumsy, powerfully and stubbornly kind, and head-in-the-clouds eccentric, right to the very end. He's obsessed with writing, which he usually does on a whim, when the moment strikes him, and what he produces (or at least what of it is read in the movie, excerpts from his first and only published collection of poems, also entitled Spring and Chaos) is as fascinating as one could hope. Reminiscent of (of all the comparisons to make) and as memorable in surreal detail as Cronenberg's Naked Lunch, Spring and Chaos is among the most heart-warming, beguiling, and astounding character portraits I've ever seen. I'm really excited to get my hands on some of Kenji-san's written work.