CountZero313 A former punk musician finds his new undertaking as a Zen priest difficult to adjust to, as he feels music and not religion may just be the thing to live for.This film has under-stated performances, some lovely comedic moments, and the occasional good tune. The camera-work is excellent and the cuts have clearly been pre-planned. Sadly, there just isn't enough meat in this script to keep you engaged.We know our hero is depressed because he takes pills and walks around with his head sagging. He copes, till a healthy man with his own business, a loving wife, no financial woes and a typically stroppy teenage son decides for some reason that this is too much and offs himself. It is this shallow representation of suicide and mental illness that does not quite convince. The priest himself neglects his devoted wife and loving son, and I for one couldn't quite forgive him for it. I think we are supposed to feel his pain. I just wanted to give the self-indulgent narcissist a good shake.The reaction shots of everyone smiling at the climax song implies one sad priest getting to take his shirt off on stage has briefly saved the world. Such melodrama would be hard to swallow in an afternoon soap opera, but in a 113-minute film that purports to be a meditation on the meaning of life it is suffocating. The running time felt like three hours.Kato displays deft shot flow and a penchant for mise-en-scene, but unless he gets to grips with the basics of script I won't be tempted by any future outings.

symbolt This movie has to be read between the lines. A very kind-hearted comedy about an outsider looking for a way in, it's a story of a Buddhist monk, ex-rocker, pushed into the order by his family, who wanted to disassociate him from his destructive and embarrassing antics on the stage. Now, held together by the peace of the shrine and pills, he suffers a crisis of self and decides that he needs to play live one more time. His family and the people around him are all trying to go through the same process in different ways - should one be pushed into a social self (perhaps more important in Japanese culture than in most Western societies), or allowed self-expression at all costs? By exploring the wacky characters around Zonen, the movie takes us through a comedic story, all the while hinting at deeper questions of trying to find enlightenment. The music and camera work are fluid. I was very happy watching and re-watching it, and truly recommend it.

John Seal Directed by Naoki Kato, Abraxas (Aburakurasu no matsuri) stars indie rocker Suneohair (born Kenji Watanabe) as Jonen, a Zen Buddhist monk whose punk rock past is proving difficult to leave behind. After embarrassing himself and his temple at a high school career day, our hero decides he must confront his demons head on because "if we become one with the noise, the noise disappears". Jonen sets out to prove his point by performing at a local karaoke bar. Needless to say, not everyone thinks this is such a great idea — including wife Tae (Rie Tomasaka), who begs him not perform his trademark striptease while on stage. Though stymied by an unhappy local matriarch, Jonen moves his show to the temple, where he proceeds to wow the locals with his lusty singing, guitar pyrotechnics, and (alas) penchant for taking his shirt off. This gentle, deliberately paced, wryly humorous, and periodically LOUD film will appeal to admirers of both Buddhist ritual and the noisier side of New York rockers Sonic Youth.