i shouldn't have read this, as anything written by charles about a film WILL NOT be about the film, but rather about himself and his mindset.

but, i love Japanese prog-noise, and The Grand Illusion so i read this "review."

TL;DR = FUCK YOU CHARLES!

or

god, i hate you. you don't review films, you talk to yourself.

you know nothing of Japan, except tidbits and anecdotes from the news. i actually live in Japan. while some of the things you mention are true - they don't matter. we are moving forward as a country.

we have population deflation, which you would see as a good thing if you didn't want to poke fun at it. our cities are very dense and people there quite often choose not to have children (your utopia!), but here in the countryside (Japan is mostly rural from geography standpoints) every body has kids. our town has only one of all the basic services (health clinic, post office, grocery store, bank, restaurant, library, etc. - and also only one cop), but it has 3 schools and a number of private tutors.

and Japan is still on the cutting edge of technologies - solar electricity for houses is actually a viable option for both new construction and refits of older homes. we have more plug in cars and hybrids than you guys and our fuel efficiency makes a mockery of the way the u.s. drives.

in other words, the world isn't ending - it's CHANGING. you're supposed to like change, but if you can make fun of it while riding the bus and typing on your smartphone, then you will do it. and then you will go write something else where you call yourself a better person than the rest of us because we're stuck in the past and you're so smart and forward thinking.

so again, yeah, FUCK YOU.