Anatomy of a Paper Clip - mysterious, dead-pan goings on in Japan

Probably the most deadpan comedy I have ever seen, Anatomy of a Paperclip is a funny but strange affair. The film uses its surreal setting and scenes to take the side of the underdog against the wider forces at work in the world - disinterested corporations and opportunistic criminality among them. There may well have been a lot more social satire and metaphor involved, but not being very familiar with Japan, I had to take it at face value.  And it was still very enjoyable at this level.

Our central protagonist, Kogure, works in the strangest repetitive job that I can remember on film since Mary's dad in Mary and Max worked adding the strings to tea bags.  He works at a paper clip factory, well he sits at a bench in a dusty work room, hand making paper clips with an utterly vile and inappropriate boss and three largely silent colleagues.  Kogure lives in a tiny one room flat and wars a neck brace. The reason for this last aspect is strongly hinted at but never confirmed.  The clothes worn by the characters look vaguely contemporary but could also probably come from the past 40 years or the next 40. The low-tech ‘factory’, the lack of other technology bar one vintage radio and the slightly dystopian atmosphere in the background made me uncertain of the date and added a disquieting feel behind the strangeness.

Dialogue is frequently sparse and the actors’ movement deliberately start and stilted, giving it almost the feeling of a silent film.  The comedy comes from the utterly absurd situations Kogure finds himself and the compliant passivity or baffled politeness that he answers these situations with – even undressing every time he meets a pair of local wannabe gangsters who demanded his clothes the first time he see them.  The comic timing in both the acting, pacing and editing is spot on. The director uses repetition (or almost repeated scenes with a twist) to underscore the comedy effectively.  My only qualm with the humour was that a couple of situations were unpleasant rather than humorous and presenting them as comedy was a little alienating.

As the story becomes odder and more disconcerting, it feels like we are building to an ending that will explain one of the most unexplained and surreal sub-plots – one literally sitting in the corner of the room.  However, this is slightly rushed over.  On reflection if the film is viewed through the prism of a sort of character journey for Kogure, then the narrative does come to some sort of conclusion or finish point. However, it felt a bit fudged and perhaps left me getting less out of the film than I would have liked.  Still, for the overall absurdity and strange humour, it was an effective, enjoyable and very funny film.