[DVD] My Secret Cache (aka: The Secret Garden / Region-All)
Starring: Naomi Nishida, Go Riju
Director: Shinobu Yaguchi
Studio: Woori Entertainment
Rating: NR
Genre: Drama
About This DVD
Sakiko (Nishida Naomi), the heroine of My Secret Cache, loves money. Most of us
do, too, but Sakiko is a bit single-minded in her affection. After all, when
asked out for dinner, she usually just responds, "Why not give me the money
you'll spend instead?" So when Sakiko is kidnapped by bank robbers along with
500 million yen in cash and survives a car crash where the robbers die and the
loot is lost in an unknown, watery grotto, it is not surprising that the
recovery of all the loot for herself becomes Sakiko's all-consuming obsession.
Dismissed by all who think the money burned in the inferno of the crash, Sakiko
stops at nothing to find that cash-filled cave. She goes through exam hell to
enter a university geology department that knows that area best. She wins any
sports contest she enters to secure its cash prize so she can finance her
search. Sakiko will even lie, cheat and steal to get her hands on that hidden
treasure.
Films in the vein of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World would reproach her for such
greed and avarice, but director Yaguchi Shinobu's slightly skewed gaze is much
gentler. Money gives meaning and direction to Sakiko's life--it makes her
endearing in her persistence, resourcefulness, and consistency. It even helps
her do the impossible, even if it's just for money.
It also becomes the driving force behind the delightful comedy, My Secret Cache,
a kind of vectoral progression running through the film similar to that in
Yaguchi's other works. The high-school heroine of his debut feature, Down the
Drain ("Hadashi no pikunikku," 1992), was also propelled in a straight line,
only hers was incessantly downward as one trick of fate after another hurled her
further and further into utter degradation.
But whereas she became victim of the downward velocity of that relentless black
comedy, Cache's Sakiko takes that vectoricity and makes it her own. And despite
falling down more times than one can count, her progression is ultimately
upward, bringing good fortune to herself and to others in her wake. My Secret
Cache is a much lighter film than Down the Drain. It is rhythmically woven with
a pleasant artificiality epitomized by the intentionally campy special effects.
Every shot seems posed and many of Yaguchi's hilarious gags stand alone as
independent theatrical sketches.
| Audio Format: | DD 2.0 Stereo, DD 1.0 Mono |
| Video Format: | Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) |
| Languages: | Japanese |
| Subtitles: | Korean |
| Country Made: | Japan |
| Region Code: | 3 |
| Year Made: | 1997 |
| Running Time: | 83 / 59 |
| Special Features: | - Commentary by Director &
Casts - Teaser(s) - Behind-the-scenes featurette - Trailers of films directed by Shinobu Yaguchi - Stills gallery (43 cuts) - Poster Images (5) |
| Availability: | Usually ships in 5-10 days |
