The territory he treads on here is Kurosawa's unclassifiable Charisma (1999), with which it shares both the theme of the individual versus society and the symbolism of the tree and the forest as applied to it. Despite the resemblance, Aoyama's film is more than just a slavish copy, offering a situation that's rather more concrete and focused than Kurosawa's canvas of broad strokes.

Aoyama's individualist is Mike Hama private eye (prolific Masatoshi Nagase), a goofball kitted out in ersatz punk attire who keeps the world at arm's length, including friends and informants. Hired by a rich industrialist whose daughter ran away in an attempt to "find herself", Mike drives out into the countryside to infiltrate the new age sect the girl has joined. Living cloister-like in an isolated house amid the woods, the cult welcomes Mike into its midst, although the detective sticks out like a sore thumb among the demure, docile constituents. In fact, the cult is the opposite of Mike's individualism, and for an organisation that purports to offer people the opportunity to find their inner selves it puts a lot of emphasis on obedience and equality. When his attempts to persuade the industrialist's daughter to leave the compound fail, Mike finds himself increasingly drawn in by the gentle but persistent words of the sect's enigmatic female leader. When she tells him that the surrounding woods contain a tree that looks just like him, Mike can't resist his curiosity and follows her on a hike into the forest.

Extending the symbolism of Charisma, Aoyama not only compares the individual to a tree and society to a forest, he more overtly states that despite all its individuality, the tree is still part of the forest. Mike's individualism is the result of his own attempts to set himself apart from the rest of society. He is not an outcast ostracised for being different, even though that's what he would like to believe. In fact, he makes strenuous attempts to make himself believe it: when his client keeps referring to him as "Mike-san" or "Mr. Detective" (the use of 'san' and the job description underlining that Mike is just another part of society), the private eye frustratingly reminds him time after time to simply call him Mike.

[ http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/fornonam.shtml ]

Less a narrative than it is a series of subconscious impulses, A Forest With No Name is a strikingly composed and completely open ended study of the nature of desire and identity. What is it that makes people who they are? Why do we have such a burning desire to define ourselves? The retreat center with its glassy eyed potential for violence seems a clear reference to the Aum death cult that unleashed the sarin attacks in Tokyo's subways and Aoyama gives a surprisingly sympathetic look at why people might be drawn to such an organization. The film is beautifully shot with some genuinely stunning imagery - i.e. the tree itself. Aoyama's stylistic flourishes are in full effect and Masatoshi Nagase gives an excellent, multi layered performance as Hama himself.

[ http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/002734.html ]