Director - Gen Takahashi
Language - Japanese
Genre - Horror, Drama
"The Difference between you and me is the same as the difference between those who kill and those who are killed"
Kamiyama to Morino
Based on the Manga of the same title 'Goth, Love of Death' is tale about about identity & friendship.
The film opens with the discovery of a body, posed and dressed as if it is still alive, the only sign of harm to the body is that the left hand has been removed. Amongst the gathering crowd is Morino who notices Kamiyama a boy from the same classes as her. After the discovery of a second body Kamiyama and Morino meet up, both of them are fascinated by the murders and they decide to look into them, not to find out who is doing them but to see the next body's and to see why the kill is doing them, a task that is made easier when Morino finds a note book belonging to the killer.
Goth, Love of Death follows Morino & Kamiyama as they meet and find a common interest in the 'left hand murders' and, as the film unfolds it focuses on the difference's and similarities between the two characters and the murder.
When the film starts Morino is a quiet outsider, always reading and never saying more than a few words to each other, when she is a the murder scene's she is just an observer. When she is alone a darker filter is used. By contrast Kamiyama is one of the popular ones, everyone knows who he is and he is never alone but he seems to prefer to be alone, he is filmed through a bright filter. The two characters are brought together by their shared interest in in murders, this interest, in both cases are caused by events in both of their pasts, in Morino's case her sister had hung her self whilst trying to play a prank & in Kamiyama's case his little sister had found a dead body on a couple of occasions.
As the film progresses it focuses on the growing friendship between Morino & Kamiyama and on their investigations into the murders. Morino is portrait as a victim, from finding the body of her sister to the fact she looks simaler to the murder victims and, in one sceen lies in the spot of one of them so Kamiyama can photograph her, this is one of the few scene's that Morino is shot in bright filter. It is hinted during the film that there is something she is hiding about the death of her sister and this is explained at the end of the film (I won't say what due to spoilers), this is a small sub plot that is more important to the manga version, I will go into this a bit later.
Kamiyama is portrait in a similar way to the murderer and, at the beginning of the film it is possible that he is the murderer. He also seems to know more about Morino's past than he is letting on.
The film version of Got Love of Death does do the manga justice although it is shortened and in doing so it loses a bit of something. In the manga the 'left hand murders' are only one of a set of murders that Morino & Kamiyama get involved with, most of which end with Morino almost being the next victim (or the intended victim) and most end with the murders escaping. As the manga unfolds we find out more about Morino's past and, although it does pay a part in the film it is a vital part of the end of the manga. The film does a good job of putting the mystery of Morino's past across but some parts don't really need to be in the film for example there is a scene where Morino receives a mysterious phone call from someone who knows about her past, in the manga this turns out to be from the final murderer but it is never really explained in the film.
The Pace of the film is slow, there is no urgency even when Kamiyama is looking for Morino when she has been taken by the killer, but there does not need to be, Kamiyama & Morino are not looking for the killer to stop him, they want him to continue his work so it does not matter that more people will die and, when Morino is captured Kamiyama is looking for her body so he has no need to rush.
Over all Goth, love of death is a good mystery film and is a change from the usual detective or 'CSI' type film & a good Manga
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