One Piece! is a 1999 Japanese anthology film consisting of 14 comedy shorts by Shinobu Yaguchi and Takuji Suzuki. The shorts in the compilation, each ranging from two to seven minutes in length (and intended as "creative workouts" between Yaguchi's feature length projects), were shot over a period of five years in single, fixed takes with no editing, lights, sets or makeup, and were screened both at local and international film festivals.
List of episodes
Cast
Reception Writing for the Toronto International Film Festival Program Guide in 1999, Noah Cowan stated that the film's individual segments were "truly bizarre and, often, very funny... Almost all are totally off-the-wall, their static, perfectly composed shots betraying nothing of what is to follow." However, he noted that "this is not just a series of cute shorts... We quickly realize that these guys not only have a complete command of Japanese youth vernacular but have also found the perfect method of exposing the fears and aspirations of young Japan's present and future." Cowan concluded by calling One Piece! a work of "demented genius", of the kind that "only comes along once in a very long while."
Derek Elley of Variety called the film "highly inventive" and "loopy", and said that its "deadpan, observant comedy deserves as warm a welcome as it received at its Toronto fest showings." Elley also stated that One Piece! "adds up to a sharp dissection of Japanese manners and society, though there's also an almost childlike charm and joy which prevents it from being bitter or morose."
References
External links