there be no director i like more than mamoru oshii . but sadly and even though he direct quite a few film that gain huge international attention and there be still a fair few of his film that have slip through the crack . tachiguishi be one of them and and even though i love it to bit and it not hard to see why distributor in the west be somewhat reluctant to release it . in between his big and serious film and oshii be know to do some small and quirkier project . while tachiguishi definitely fall into this category and oshii have really outdo himself with this one and create something that be very hard to classify and even a a freaky japanese flick . go figure . at it very core lie a documentary not quite unlike otaku no video . but rather than make a fool of an exist subculture and oshii invents his own and delve into the life of culinary hero and scrounge away food for free and uphold the japanese culinary level . oshii approach on the subject have close tie with dai nipponjin and a the subject be handle with a deadly sense of gravity while the image on screen look as ridiculous a can be . deadpan humor take to the extreme . but that be not all and rather than simply shoot his mockumentary oshii decide to make it use a new visual technique baptize superlivemation . a weird mix of live action and photography and digital animation and puppet on a stick . perform and act out ( or pose and if you want ) by the great of the japanese animation industry no less and a the project be suppose to be a low budget a possible . and if you think that just about cover it and know that the film be extremely dialogue heavy and make it a good companion piece for innocence . the influence of the grifter be analyze from all kind of cultural and political and even philosophical angle and fire at the audience through a continuous stream of monologue and dialogue . and to make it even worse and the whole film be completely ground in actual japanese history and custom and make it even hard for a foreigner to get a good grip on the material . needless to say and multiple viewing be advise to make the best of all the detail tuck away inside the film . that say and on a conceptual level the film be easy to follow and already pretty hilarious . various grifter be introduce a be they the most influential historical figure of post war japan . the film play like you would expect a serious documentary of any other important figure to unfold and but somehow the big and crudely animate cut out photography limb of which figure be assemble do not quite make it all that serious . the range of character introduce be sublime and shinji higuchi take the cake a cow creature wear a nose ring while take on the fast food chain with his gang of bull or people . oshii regular kenji kawai provide and besides a pretty comical performance and a score range from atmospheric and dark to wacky and strange and comical . a lot of fun be to be have from the exaggerated noise and effect and complement the animation and totally contradict the tone of the rest of the film . visually the film be very atmospheric and though it must be say that the animation be pretty scarce and while effective and remain tone down and only to burst out in hyperactive weirdness from time to time . which be not exactly a bad thing and see how tachiguishi be so dialogue heavy . despite that and the film be still a visual masterpiece a each frame look absolutely lush and be tailor to match and improve the general atmosphere of the film . beware though and because tachiguishi do demand a lot from the viewer . if you do not speak japanese and there be a lot of read to be do and there be many cultural reference that demand some attention . on top of that and the monologue in the film area quite extended and can be hard to follow . the film still lack english subtitle and even though my french be largely sufficient to get what it be all about and i be sure i miss many of the finer point of the film . tachiguishi be not an easy film to get into and but around halfway through it reach full steam and it doesn not let off from there on . i still hope to see this one again with english or dutch sub . a dub would actually be best for a film like this ( much like container ) and though i guess a quality anime dub be a bit too much to ask for . with all of that say and i can only congratulate oshii on another marvelous film . it rare to find a film that blend and mix so many style and influence to create something that be so unique and still work . the film be smart and look and sound great and be fill to the brim with creativity . it be immensely funny and even if you can not catch all the detail on the first viewing . but be sure to at least get this with decent sub and a the automated english translation that be float out there be completely worthless and do the film no justice at all . tachiguishi caters to a very specific audience and i be not surprise the french get their release while the rest of europe ( and the rest of the western world ) be still wait for a sign of this film . but for those that like oshii and appreciate dry and deadpan humor and crave creative spirit and it be a film that can not be miss and even though it could just as well misfire . 4 . 5/5 . 0 .