Undescribable Perfection

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Having just seen the brilliant SWORD OF DOOM by the same director, I was surprised to find that he directed this film also. This was shown, subtitled, at a Japanese sci-fi film festival at the Japan Society in New York City in the early 80's. It was on a double bill with a classic TOHO film.Set in present day Japan, the film postulates about how people would react if suddenly half the population was changed in a subtle way by mysterious UFOs. The UFOs appear and whom ever sees them has their blood permanently turned blue. This causes a mass panic where everyone is classified by their blood color and all the blues are cruelly discriminated against and eventually rounded up in concentration camps. In the midst of this, a romance blooms between a red and a blue played by the leads.The UFOs only appear very briefly, most of the film is taken up by melodrama and illustrations of mass prejudice. It's an interesting concept and the director clearly does not have much faith in humanity. Unfortunately, by the time the very melodramatic conclusion arrives (and it takes a while) I didn't care anymore and most of the audience had left in boredom.