“Most films are only mere entertainment!” Outraged by the present state
of cinema, Shuji, a young film-maker, spends his days cursing everyone
in the street and his nights screening his favourite films on the roof of
his flat for the select few, with a great skill for programming. He literally
embodies his passion for films as images are projected onto his skin, in
magnificent night shots. For his first film made in Japan, Amir Naderi, a
great exile of Iranian cinema, threw himself body and soul into a physical
passion for film. Cut is a reflection on how much a film costs, how much
it weighs in terms of flesh and blood. Chased by yakuza creditors who
have already killed his brother, Shuji is ready to risk his own life: anyone
can punch him in the stomach for money. In-between screenings of Lola
Montes and The Searchers, Shuji becomes a living punching ball. With
the last hundred punches, Naderi lists the “100 best films ever”, doing
away with any psychological heaviness through powerful and humorous
editing. A distant relation of Carl Dreyer’s Joan of Arc, Shuji puts up with
his condition in a stoical manner which could well define the situation of
any independent film-maker in our critical times… CG
