Subject: RETROSPECTIVE: TWILIGHT OF THE COCKROACHES (1987)

From: [email-masked] (Shane R. Burridge)
Date: 23 Jul 1996 15:12:48 GMT

TWILIGHT OF THE COCKROACHES
                       A film review by Shane R. Burridge
                        Copyright 1996 Shane R. Burridge

(1987) 105m.

I imagine director Hiroaki Yoshida chose this title in preference to
`Day of the Cockroaches' (too apocalyptic) or `Night of the
Cockroaches' (too horrific) for this part-animated, part-live-action
tale.  But while `twilight' - evocative of a closing chapter/era - is 
really  more appropriate, it is simply wishful thinking to suggest that
cockroaches have had their time on Earth. 

This is one of those films that you watch and wonder why it was ever
made.  It's hardly box-office material: a love triangle between three
cockroaches during an ongoing war - the war in this case being against
two humans, the indifferent Mr Saito (Kaoru Kobayashi ) and his
neighbor the roach-hating Miss Momoko ((Setsuko Karasumaru ).  Using
real actors in the human roles makes it hard for us to fully identify
with the animated roaches, despite Yoshida's overripe
anthropomorphizing (these bugs make Jiminy Cricket look like E.T.) 
Furthermore, who really wants to identify with cockroaches anyway?  In
some cases it works: the low angle, POV floor shots; the sequence
where one of the older roaches scoots among the shadows to retrieve a
crumb on the floor (he does it on six legs as opposed to walking
upright!).  At other times it's just offputting.  Being a confirmed
roach-hater myself I didn't find anything cute about partying roaches
hanging around a toilet or crowded around leftovers.  Also, the
storyline rambles.  There's just too much to-ing and fro-ing, and at
one and three-quarter hours running time the film is overlong.  Film's
major saving grace is that at no time the roaches burst into song (a
la The Roches, perhaps?) - cartoon characters singing love songs to
each other is another of my pet peeves.  In fact, the simple, delicate
score may be the best thing it has going for it.

It's hard to recommend this movie because its audience is unclear. 
Obviously, those with an interest in animation should check it out. 
It's probably not offbeat enough for cult status (although it surely
marks the cinematic debut of a talking turd).  What's interesting is
that if this film had been made forty years earlier it would have
undoubtedly been seen as a political statement.  The comparisons with
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are plain: the roaches' allies in the
neighboring `country' across the backyard have German names; civilian
roaches are annihilated indiscriminately by insecticide bombs; the
roach army flies into battle on suicide missions; and of course, we
all know which insects will be most likely to survive a nuclear
holocaust, don't we?  This is a GODZILLA destruction allegory pared down
to insect level.  It still doesn't excuse the film from being dull;
the characters are largely static, uninteresting or cliched.  With
some judicious editing the storyline could have been tightened
considerably.  Forget trying to sympathize with cockroaches - watch
CREEPSHOW if you want to see some real roach action.