Vital

Director - Shin'ya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tokyo Fist)
Starring - Tadanobu Asano (Thor: Ragnarok, Tokyo Zombie), Nami Tsukamoto, and Kiki (Starfish Hotel, Pandora's Box)
Release Date - 2004
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I was excited to continue my trip through Solid Metal Nightmares after watching the sexually fueled thriller A Snake in June.  The next film in the set was another dark thriller.  This time on the chopping block (which is fitting so to speak) is 2004's Vital.  This is one I've seen a few horror-minded friends share in the horror groups so I was very excited to finally check it out.  I will admit that I was not aware that it was a Shin'ya Tsukamoto film.

     The film follows a young man who loses his girlfriend in a horrible accident.  He was in med school before the accident and decides to return after her death.  However, he does not recall the accident and a lot of his memories before the accident.  During his studies he is to dissect a corpse and he becomes infatuated with it.  Studying the body day in and out and while doing so he starts to remember his lost love and the accident.  

     I went into Vital still thinking about A Snake of June but after 20 minutes I had forgot about the film to focus on what was before.  Vital was not the kind of movie that I was expecting but god damn was it fantastic.  The acting in this one is extremely uneven.  Tadanobu Asano is fantastic as the film's lead.  His emotionless approach to the role really brings a new depth to the film with his eerie performance.  The supporting cast hits hard in a few of the scenes but in others they do come across as very underwhelming.  The story for this one is as beautiful as it is morbid.  A man loses the love of his life but soon finds passion in his studies while dissecting a body of a stranger that, it turns out, is actually his lost love.  It's depraved and poetic.  I absolutely loved it and Tsukamoto's pacing is a delight in every scene.  Finally, this is not a bloody mess of a movie.  It is character driven but we also get several fantastic scenes of the young medical student exploring the cadaver.  The effects are fucking fantastic.  Overall, Vital is a superb film and I don't see the remaining films in this set dethroning this one as my favorite.