By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Shion Sono
Country: japan
Year: 2014
Running time: 116
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2808986/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Brett says: “It has gangs. It has over-the-top violence. It has lots of dead bodies. Oh, and it’s a musical. If one is to become gang lord of one of the largest cities on earth, it’s going to take some ambition. If one to make this idea for a movie come to fruition, it takes some ambition. Welcome to the ambition that is TOKYO TRIBE.
“Rap/hip hop is the vehicle for a grindhouse type of feel amid this gang war musical. Never fear, however. TOKYO TRIBE does not take itself too seriously so as to not know what it’s attempting. This is sure to be a cult hit for years to come. And being a cult hit means there will be more than a fair share of detractors along the way. This is certainly not going to be everyone’s cup of blood.
“The premise is supported by heavy art direction and production design fitting for such a lofty idea. If it weren’t for these outstanding artistic investments, the other aspects of the film could not likely carry it. The rapping, for the most part, is–at best–mediocre. For a premise that takes such a risk, most of the lyrics to the musical numbers tend to be a little static and stale. The songs have a flavor of grit that they need at times, but it’s just not quite enough. The experience of the film would be enhanced if the lyrical compositions were as salty or bombastic as the stage designs and character premises themselves.
“There is plenty to love for the action aficionado who likes paying attention to detail. And the premises are top notch. One cannot stop short of thinking how Quentin Tarantino must be salivating if he ever crosses paths with this film. It’s wild and bizarre, but it’s done so with a directorial touch and a firm grip of where it needs to go rather than allowing the script and action to get away from the one that’s supposed to guide it.
“On the other hand, perhaps TOKYO TRIBE could have benefited more if the director let the reins go a bit more and let some moments be as over-the-top as the ideas themselves. As hinted at earlier, it’s a film where the premises get the nod over the actual delivery. For example, a whole host of character types are available to embrace. So if those defining characteristics were amplified to an even greater extent, this is a film that would have an even greater following. Although it is surely not the case, missed opportunities for even louder and more larger than life scenes make it seem at times as if the movie is ashamed of what it is.
“Most times, forcing something in film is surefire disaster, but again, think DJANGO UNCHAINED and DEATH PROOF. Characters that shove their way into the camera’s eye are the remarkable moments of films with that style. That is not to say that TOKYO TRIBE is not extreme. Certainly, the movie has many defining moments that will etch themselves into action moviemaking lore: things never seen before in their own contexts. There just seems to be a lack of capitalization after the fact on those defining moments. One of the biggest examples of this is the potential for epic character builds. The film has a great many character builds introduced that should soar in this film. However, one of two things often happens with those featured characters: they either take an unexpected turn away from what they were when first introduced (which lessens their elevated status and the ‘fear/awe factor’ that most of them set up for the audience) or they go too far in attempting a full, rounded development dynamic. For a comic book-esque movie, it’s OK to use comic book personas throughout. Not all characters have to be round. That being said about some of the main characters’ flaws, the film cashes in huge with its use of minor characters not essential to the main point of the plot. (The turntable granny is nothing short of an iconic character).
“It’s a savory idea that should get applause for its guts. It’s just that it gets caught in a weird position where it is attempting to do so much, the audience cannot be as emphatic with each scene as the film premise seems it deserves. Many characters and scenes that get set up to etch themselves into viewers’ brains are easily forgotten about in the original context they are introduced, and what happens is a movie rich in scene ideas that move ever so slowly away from what got them there to begin with.”
Jason says: “Sion Sono has never really been the quiet, contemplative sort of art-house director, but his last few films seem to have been brimming with the sort of constant action that would make genre filmmakers jealous, with Tokyo Tribe an almost non-stop barrage of over-the-top insanity once the fighting starts. The surprising thing is that an audience can be somewhat forgiven for not registering that fact, since the veneer on top of it – a busy manga adaptation told as a hip-hop musical – is crazy enough in its way that it may be what the audience remembers.
“And that’s not exactly unfair. That style has Tokyo Tribe moving forward at a constant fast pace, with jokes and details packed into every corner, more characters than the audience can possibly process, and moments of jaw-dropping insanity that you can almost imagine Sono giggling as he put them into the script for how silly they are (the beatboxing server in the banquet scenes may have been my favorite thing Sono has ever gone for while she was on-screen). There’s garish designs, tanks, slapstick, and other over-the-top madness.
“What is going on? Well, as narrator MC Show (Shota Sometani) lays it down, every neighborhood in Tokyo is run by a themed gang kept in balance largely by the central Musashino Saru, whose leader Tera (Ryuta Sato) is all about peace and love. Another gang, the Bukuro Wu-ronz, led by Bubba (Riki Takeuchi), is looking to make a move, and by attacking Mera, sets the other gangs at each other’s throats, with even Tera’s friend Kai (Young Dais) looking to fight despite being hugely outmatched physically by Bubba’s son Mera (Ryohei Suzuki). And if that’s not enough, there’s a kung fu princess (Nana Seino) hiding out in one of the prefectures, and delivering her to her clan for sacrifice would give Bubba the ally he needs to claim all of Tokyo.
“It’s colorful, bizarre, and sometimes tacky as heck. Sono likely did a fair bit to compact Santa Inoue’s manga from nine volumes to two hours, but early on, it seems like he’s determined to introduce absolutely every character, and while some of them are quite memorable, it can overload your brain, enough that by the time a story starts shaking out, you almost have to learn the important characters again. And with your brain busy doing that, it may take a bit of time to realize that what the action crew is doing is actually really amazing.
“Just marvel at the sheer numbers on-screen during the last half of the movie, which feels like a non-stop rumble, and marvel at the job that action director Toshiro Takuma and action coordinator Akihiko Tusnoda are doing riding herd on them. Then look closer, and the individual melees within are actually good on their own, playing to the characters’ personalities and actors’ capabilities. Special props should be given to Nana Seino, who establishes Sunmi as just a spunky character the audience figures in over her head before breaking out some eye-poppingly athletic moves, and then careens through the big action scenes with a fierce commitment that puts a lot of her larger male co-stars to shame.
“So, okay, you’ve got plenty of eye candy and great action, what else is missing? Well, obviously, it should be a hip-hop musical, with a fair chunk of the cast made up of Japanese rappers, some of them big J-pop stars, some raw newcomers that Sono found via open auditions. Sono deploys his cast well – he knows that Nana Seino is there to kick ass and Riki Takeunchi is there to chew scenery, and doesn’t make them look bad trying to sing – so even though a lot of the movie is sung and danced, nobody seems out of their comfort zone. And the soundtrack is catchy as heck, even for those of us that don’t understand a word of Japanese; it’s one you’ll likely be humming for days (or months) after the movie finishes.
“There’s a real exhilaration to the film in general, as well, as it is about various factions coming together rather than pulling apart. Like a lot of Sono’s best recent films, there’s a gigantic heart underneath the frantic violence and chaos, and it’s almost sure to send the audience out with a smile on their faces. 4.75 cats
“Seen 21 September 2014 in Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar #4 (Fantastic Fest, DCP)”