I was lucky enough to catch Shinzô Katayama’s Missing while covering Fantastic Fest. It’s a layered story, jam-packed with so many twists and turns, M. Night Shyamalan would fall over. I’m not exaggerating either, my wife and I still discuss this one daily. The film does have its flaws as some ideas are a bit too heavy-handed and do more harm than good, but ultimately it’s a solid and entertaining piece of cinema that’ll keep you guessing from start to finish.
To me, Katayama is Japan’s new-age Hitchcock, and while I think he liked the comparison, he’s apparently more of a Scorcese guy. While I too like Goodfellas, Scorcese has a very set-in-his-ways type of style and Katayama, on the other hand, is more difficult to put in a box than my cat after updating his shot records.
So far I’ve mentioned Shyamalan and Hitchcock, but I haven’t brought up the company Katayama keeps. He was the assistant director for award-winner Bong Joon Ho on his film, Mother. When writing, the two men explore similar themes dealing with morality and other foreign issues we may not think of here in the United States.
While Bong’s early works are now looked at as exceptional, it wasn’t until Parasite that most people began to take notice. Here’s your chance to get ahead of the game. Allow me to introduce you to your favorite new director, Shinzô Katayama.
Jessie Hobson