Executive Koala (2005)

Director: Minoru Kawasaki

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Country: Japan

Summary: (paraphrased from wiki) Tamura is an average salaryman in Japan – and also a koala bear. Though not a human being, he’s a successful businessman and hopes to marry his girlfriend, Yoko. His visions are of an ordinary life with an ordinary company until his ordinary retirement. But when his girlfriend turns up dead one morning, the police finger the Executive Koala as their prime suspect.

Impressions: You won’t enjoy this film unless the prospect of a giant koala as the main character excites you. If you can read the DVD slip and still be interested, then I recommend watching this film. Kenichi Tamura (the koala) is a character who works hard but gives himself little leeway in his private life. The movie is full of strange, unique and unexpected dream sequences, as well as some clever camera work.

However, the film is clearly intentionally amateurist, in the purposely bad acting of its main characters and the use of obvious props and fake-looking special effects. Unfortunately, what I found to be a strong, compelling story whittles down in the last 15 minutes, as more and more (unnecessary) secrets are revealed. A prolonged “fight” scene cost this film an extra star, in addition to the one it loses for alienating the majority of the world’s audience.

Don’t get me wrong, I still loved this film, but then again, I love Noboru Iguchi and Takashi Miike, too. The question you have to ask yourself when watching this movie is: Would this movie be as good if the main character wasn’t a koala? I would like to watch Minoru Kawasaki’s other movies, like Crap Goalkeeper and Calamari Wrestler, and see more of his style in the future.

3 out of 5