Death Note I & II
August 5th 2007 08:42
DEATH NOTE
&
DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME
2006
Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda, Takeshi Kaga.
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
The first film, Death Note, and its sequel, Death Note: The Last Name, based on the popular manga, explore the themes of justice, punishment, and judgement, through the supernatural.
The plot centres on Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who is studying law at university. A notebook, possessed of the extraordinary power to kill anyone whose name is written into it, literally falls into his hands, the gift of “a god of death” called Ryuuk. Soon Light is killing scores of criminals by writing their names into the notebook, punishing them through his own means of capital justice, in a way he believes is far more effective than the justice delivered by the law he was studying. Light does all this under the guise of “Kira” an identity he creates for the internet in order to publicise his theories of justice and gather support for his “New World Order.”
However, not everyone aggress with “Kira’s” vision, especially the police, the chief of whom is Light’s own father. As Light proves difficult to capture, a mysterious adversary is brought into play. Known only as “L”, the nameless and faceless investigator begins to narrow down the possible suspects coming ever closer to discovering the identity of “Kira”, while Light must use all his cunning to discover the name of “L”, so he can kill him, and use all the tricks of the Death Note in order to evade capture.
The first film takes an original concept, the fact that you can kill someone just by writing their name in a notebook, as far as it can possibly go, exploring the potential of such an idea to its extremes. As the audience we are siding with Light, as he is the main character with whom we are led to identify. We take pleasure in watching his elaborate schemes come to fruition, as he manoeuvres to rid himself of the people who try to stop him. He gradually learns the extent of the power of the Death Note: the rules associated with the book allow him to determine the cause and manner of death of the intended victims, and to write their name down as far as twenty eight days in advance.
The stakes are raised when we find out the identity of “L”, an adolescent mastermind criminal profiler, who appears to subsist on nothing but candy, and is in charge of elaborate FBI operations. Ken’ichi is brilliant in his portrayal of the eccentric and heavy eye-liner wearing nemesis of Light. In a lot of ways Light and “L” are extremely similar, down to their preference for “consommé” flavoured chips, yet they are also opposites when it comes to their views on justice, with “L” never in any doubt that the mass murderer “Kira” must be stopped.
Death Note is also an interesting study of someone who wants to do the right thing by bringing safety to the world, and therefore peace, by removing the criminal element, yet, who goes about it the wrong way by making himself judge, jury, and executioner. Eventually the absolute power the Death Note gives Light begins to take its toll, and he is forced to sacrifice innocent people in order to evade capture and continue his cause. As the audience, despite identifying with Light, we are also forced to question our views on capital punishment and whether the justice system does enough to protect victims of crime. Throughout both films soundbites are shown on TV of people voicing their opinions for or against “Kira’s” cause. The fact that “Kira’s” legend is left to live on at the end of the second film, to possibly become a folk hero, is a morally ambiguous finish.
Death Note: The Last Name, picks up where the first film leaves off, only this time there is another person in possession of another Death Note notebook. Calling themselves “Kira II”, we soon learn that they intend to use their power in order to help “Kira”. Adding to the twists, Light is now a member of the very police team trying to capture “Kira”. He must now fend off the suspicions of “L” with whom he now works, as well as discover the identity of the other Death Note possessor.
The sequel continues with the same characters and themes of the first movie, with more cat and mouse between “L” and Light. It is as entertaining as the first movie and expounds upon the ideas introduced in that film in a logical and satisfying way. But who will emerge the victor? Will Light find out “L’s” real name in time to write it in the Death Note and kill him? Or will “L” discover that “Kira” is Light and deprive him of the instrument with which he delivers his justice.
I saw both these films as part of a double feature screening them together. As they are based on the manga, I believe they are designed to be two halves of the one film, however, Death Note is a perfectly satisfying stand alone film in its own right, and you can fully appreciate the themes of the film without watching the sequel. However, if you want to see a complete resolution to the story, I recommend you watch Death Note: The Last Name as well.
&
DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME
2006
Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda, Takeshi Kaga.
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
The first film, Death Note, and its sequel, Death Note: The Last Name, based on the popular manga, explore the themes of justice, punishment, and judgement, through the supernatural.
The plot centres on Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara), who is studying law at university. A notebook, possessed of the extraordinary power to kill anyone whose name is written into it, literally falls into his hands, the gift of “a god of death” called Ryuuk. Soon Light is killing scores of criminals by writing their names into the notebook, punishing them through his own means of capital justice, in a way he believes is far more effective than the justice delivered by the law he was studying. Light does all this under the guise of “Kira” an identity he creates for the internet in order to publicise his theories of justice and gather support for his “New World Order.”
However, not everyone aggress with “Kira’s” vision, especially the police, the chief of whom is Light’s own father. As Light proves difficult to capture, a mysterious adversary is brought into play. Known only as “L”, the nameless and faceless investigator begins to narrow down the possible suspects coming ever closer to discovering the identity of “Kira”, while Light must use all his cunning to discover the name of “L”, so he can kill him, and use all the tricks of the Death Note in order to evade capture.
The first film takes an original concept, the fact that you can kill someone just by writing their name in a notebook, as far as it can possibly go, exploring the potential of such an idea to its extremes. As the audience we are siding with Light, as he is the main character with whom we are led to identify. We take pleasure in watching his elaborate schemes come to fruition, as he manoeuvres to rid himself of the people who try to stop him. He gradually learns the extent of the power of the Death Note: the rules associated with the book allow him to determine the cause and manner of death of the intended victims, and to write their name down as far as twenty eight days in advance.
The stakes are raised when we find out the identity of “L”, an adolescent mastermind criminal profiler, who appears to subsist on nothing but candy, and is in charge of elaborate FBI operations. Ken’ichi is brilliant in his portrayal of the eccentric and heavy eye-liner wearing nemesis of Light. In a lot of ways Light and “L” are extremely similar, down to their preference for “consommé” flavoured chips, yet they are also opposites when it comes to their views on justice, with “L” never in any doubt that the mass murderer “Kira” must be stopped.
Death Note is also an interesting study of someone who wants to do the right thing by bringing safety to the world, and therefore peace, by removing the criminal element, yet, who goes about it the wrong way by making himself judge, jury, and executioner. Eventually the absolute power the Death Note gives Light begins to take its toll, and he is forced to sacrifice innocent people in order to evade capture and continue his cause. As the audience, despite identifying with Light, we are also forced to question our views on capital punishment and whether the justice system does enough to protect victims of crime. Throughout both films soundbites are shown on TV of people voicing their opinions for or against “Kira’s” cause. The fact that “Kira’s” legend is left to live on at the end of the second film, to possibly become a folk hero, is a morally ambiguous finish.
Death Note: The Last Name, picks up where the first film leaves off, only this time there is another person in possession of another Death Note notebook. Calling themselves “Kira II”, we soon learn that they intend to use their power in order to help “Kira”. Adding to the twists, Light is now a member of the very police team trying to capture “Kira”. He must now fend off the suspicions of “L” with whom he now works, as well as discover the identity of the other Death Note possessor.
The sequel continues with the same characters and themes of the first movie, with more cat and mouse between “L” and Light. It is as entertaining as the first movie and expounds upon the ideas introduced in that film in a logical and satisfying way. But who will emerge the victor? Will Light find out “L’s” real name in time to write it in the Death Note and kill him? Or will “L” discover that “Kira” is Light and deprive him of the instrument with which he delivers his justice.
I saw both these films as part of a double feature screening them together. As they are based on the manga, I believe they are designed to be two halves of the one film, however, Death Note is a perfectly satisfying stand alone film in its own right, and you can fully appreciate the themes of the film without watching the sequel. However, if you want to see a complete resolution to the story, I recommend you watch Death Note: The Last Name as well.
| 48 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD