MartinHafer I have previously reviewed a couple films by Minoru Kawasaki and found both of them to be completely bizarre...as well as worthy additions to my "you ain't seen nothing' yet" series of reviews of strange films. Executive Koala is a strange murder mystery starring a guy dressed up in a koala costume and Rug Cop is a hilarious film where a weirdo group of hero cops, and a smart toupee, fight evil! Here in Calamari Wrestler, Kawasaki has crafted yet another ultra-strange film...a film about a professional wrestler somehow reincarnated as a giant squid!!When the film begins, Taguchi has just been crowned the king of Japanese wrestling. However, as he raised his new championship belt to the heavens, it's snatched away....by a six foot tall squid!! And then the squid proceeds to beat the crap out of the champ. No, this is not a cartoon...the filmmaker has a guy in tights wearing a squid costume! Sounds pretty weird...well, it only gets weirder from here!At first, Calamari Wrestler has a hard time getting a re-match with Taguchi. After all, the big shots in charge of wrestling don't want the invertebrate to be a hero and will only arrange a match if Calamari agrees to throw the fight! Undaunted, he goes on a campaign to win the love of the Japanese public and soon the fans are demanding the fight takes place...and Calamari be allowed to try his best to win. However, when the big match is just about to begin, a huge surprise takes place....Taguchi has learned how to transform himself into a giant fighting octopus!!! Who will win this battle of the titans? And, what other incredibly strange surprises are in store for the audience when they see this film? And trust me...it only gets stranger!!This film is very enjoyable because it never takes itself seriously and is great for a laugh. It certainly ain't sophisticated entertainment, but it IS entertaining and fun. Quality-wise, I still prefer Rug Cop, but Calamari Wrestler is still one delightfully strange film and a worthy addition to Kawasaki's list of bizarro films!

OttoVonB A wrestling championship is interrupted in its final seconds by a new challenger: a 6-foot Calamari! He wins the title and becomes the nation's mascot. Many also liken his style to a former champion. His opponent, seeking revenge, seeks to confront him again.Rocky with a calamari thrown in might be an adequate pitch, but it barely does this film justice. "Calamari Wrestler" is a very knowing satire of the whole sports film genre, checking every cliché in the formula and turning it on its head by showing its silliness without ever resorting to sarcasm. Indeed, there is a moving earnestness to the film, because the premise is so ridiculous that it can allow itself to play it straight. Wrestling is also an inherently over-the-top sport, so throwing in a calamari (especially a latex one) isn't half as jarring as you would expect."Calamari Wrestler" deserves a 10, hands down, for its sheer silliness, novelty, unique appeal to squid fans (of which I am an unashamed member) and good heart. You can feel the love and fun of the creators in every frame. This is the kind of film you watch to laugh with your friends or lighten your mood when you feel a bit low.90 Minutes of gleeful fun!

jjjjjjjjjjjjj-4 Goddess, I sure love film festivals like the Hole In The Head festival in S.F. where I first saw this. I laughed out loud from start to finish, as did the rest of the audience.This is a film about the values that are important to the characters & their society. Ultimately it is a film about family vs. modern society. A comparison to "professional" wrestling is appropriate. The morality play, the hype, the biological enhancements of the participants, the utter fakery of its "sport" & "competition" of "pro" wrestling are all mirrored in C.W. It isn't a big step from the steroid enhanced stars of the WWWhatever to the crustacean enhanced stars of C.W.The charm of the movie is how seriously it takes its subject matter, despite the ludicrous plot. The "love interlude" is both screamingly funny and truly touching. You want to believe in the characters.I don't know how apt the comparison to Santo movies is, however. Although both C.W. and the Santo films include wrestling scenes (with monsters); the match wrestling scenes in Santo films are gratuitous and unrelated to plot. (p.s. I love Santo!). In C. W., match wrestling is both integral to the plot and of integral value to the characters. Compare to the scripted violence of "pro" wrestling, which claims to be "real", yet is so obviously fake to anyone who has ever wrestled. ("Pro" wrestlers are trained athletes: but they are actors, not wrestlers, when performing their stunts in the ring.)I was & remained charmed by this film. No one I have shared it with has watched it without falling out of their seats in laughter.

cramsay-2 After seeing this delightful little film, the only way I can think of to describe it is as a Santo (Mexican wrestling) movie set in the weird, weird world of a Japanese cartoon sushi menu. In fact it follows the typical Santo film formula to a T: orphans, love interest, entertaining the children, fighting for the glory of the sport of wrestling. Only the wrestler is a giant squid.Oh, and the Squilla Boxer is a Mantis Shrimp, and they really do have a punch as fast as a bullet. The biology is surprisingly accurate, such as pointing out that invertebrates are naturally good wrestlers because they can get out of any hold. I guess that shouldn't be surprising coming from a Japanese film, though.If you love sushi, cephalopods, magical realism and wrestling, this is the film for you! (if you can find it)Charming, and very, very odd.