Hot Picks
|
|
|
Tokyo Tribe
Japan 2014
produced by Yoshinori Chiba, Nobuhiro Iizuka, Ayako Oguchi (executive), Kinya Oguchi (executive), Tadashi Tanaka (executive), Keizo Yuri (executive) for Django Film, From First Production, Nikkatsu
directed by Sion Sono
starring Ryohei Suzuki, Young Dais, Nana Seino, Riki Takeuchi, Akihiro Kitamura, Shota Sometani, Yosuke Kubozuka, Shunsuke Daito, Denden, Yui Ichikawa, Shoko Nakagawa, Joey Beni, Takuya Ishida, Mika Kano, Pacman, Santa Inoue, Aki Hiraoka, Ryuta Sato, Kunihiko Kawakami
screenplay by Sion Sono, based on the manga by Santa Inoue, music by B.C.D.M.G.
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
|
|
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Tokyo is divided into 23 territories, each controlled by its own
"tribe", who live at relative peace with one another, but the
peace is more than a bit shaky. So when big boss Buppa (Riki Takeuchi)
wants to take over all territories, the peace is just about ready to tip,
especially when Buppa kidnaps Sunmi (Nana Seino), daughter, of the high
priest who serves as some kind of father figure to all the tribes. The
high priest though refuses to give in to Buppa's demands to get her back -
which is too bad for Sunmi, because Mera (Ryohei Suzuki) and Nkoi (Yosuke
Kubozuka), sons of Buppa, have each taken a perverted interest in the girl
... but she's more than able to stand her own in combat. Enter Kai (Young
Dais) and Tera (Ryuta Sato), long fed up with the world of senseless gang
warfare, who are fronting an attack on Buppa's headquarters - an attack
that can only culminate in chaos ... The fun thing about Tokyo
Tribe is that despite all its violence, action and bloodletting, it's
actually a musical, and a hip hop musical at that, with most of the
dialogue being rapped by the characters, with a few dance routines thrown
in, and the hip hop beat being a driving force all through the movie. This
is all captured in long and yet very dynamic takes, which also includes
the high octane action scenes which are not buried in spitfire editing but
are actually played out by the characters - and many of these scenes are
incredibly complex, so watching them in a single take is a pure joy. And
all that said, Tokyo Tribe is far from a perfect movie, and the
main problem is, it wants to go over-the-top all of the time, outcamp
itself constantly. And even though all of this is done with tongue firmly
in cheek, it after a while gets tiring. Sure, the characters are all
caricatures, but that's what makes them flat, sure the setpieces are
grotesque and well-paced, but that doesn't mean they are narratively
motivated - and that's the other problem of the movie, it's so convoluted
one tends to lose sight of the proceedings before too long. That still
makes the film a very fascinating piece of "what the fuck!?" and
"did that really just happen?", but unfortunately little more.
Will work perfectly as a party movie though!
|