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| I do not know what is up with these tongue twister titles I am pulling. |
Dear Internet,
"Tekkonkinkreet." There I said it. Now, do not ask me to spell it again. I would like to get through this review as
easily as I can rather than spend a moment every few minutes trying to spell a
word that is actually a Japanese mispronunciation. I would also like to forget this movie rather
quickly, something that I doubt I will need help with. There are a number of problems that this film
is guilty of, but I believe I am getting ahead of myself.
The
film somewhat centers its plot around two orphans, Black and White. Black is very physical and aggressive, often
beating up anyone who comes into "his town." White on the other hand is introverted and
mentally undeveloped to the point that I question his mental wherewithal. Each one balances the other out as they
survive all alone in Treasure Town.
Their relationship is supposed to be all very yin-yang, or Zen-like, but
everything is all very forced. Then
there is the various yakuza groups trying to rule the underworld of Treasure
Town with the cops thrown in for good measure.
After that is the character Snake who plans on building an amusement
park in the town to capitalize his profit.
First
off is the plot. The plot meanders from
one group of characters to the other very quickly. Each group's interactions mingle with one
another. Even when certain members are
killed off or join another faction, the plot still handles the balancing act
well for the most part. Each major
character is given a large width of time to either develop or be
showcased. This however creates a
problem. With all characters being given
so much time, it minimizes the importance of the two brothers. It got to the point where I wanted to hear
more about the various yakuza rather than follow around the kids. The story also moves at a frustratingly slow
pace. There is not enough pushing the
story along to warrant the two hour long sitting. Constantly I was left wondering what the
whole point was. Black and White are
trying to get out of the city by pick pocketing from out of the gutters, but
they could have easily stayed out of the way of the yakuza if Black had kept
his ego in check. Snake sends out
assassins to take out Black and White, but the film never quite explains why
other than in broad generalizing statements.
Does he consider them a threat to his goals? I cannot see that since Black never stood in
Snake's way of land development. So the
kids are just caught up in a game much bigger than themselves? Maybe, but if they are, then the film takes a
long time to get to that point. It
instead leads off with a much more interesting premise.
The
film begins with Black and White battling other kids who are trying to move in
on their territory. Their fight includes
jumping across rooftops, riding on the tops of buses and cars, and using
strength that would render limbs broken at first contact. On top of that is their ability to withstand
blows that could easily cause concussions.
These abilities are considered inherent to orphans or delinquents. The powers come up from time to time, usually
to try and move the plot a little forward, but are an easy scapegoat to throw
action into the film. When the assassins
show up, the kids are quickly tossed around like rag dolls, so there really is
not much point in them having super-human abilities in the first place if the
film is going to minimize them so much.
It all feels tacked on especially after the beginning scene. What I thought the film was trying to create
in the beginning was a sort of underworld ruled by street urchins, fighting for
territory by using a plethora of inhuman skills. Instead we get a story that is absolutely
filled with empty imagery that supersedes the plot.
The
film has a lot of symbols. Right of the
bat, you have the characters Black and White who are supposed to be like yin
and yang, each complimenting each other and needing the other. While this is reasonable to see, it breaks
down when one takes in the fact that Black willingly allows White to be taken
into police custody. If the two are
really a yin-yang, then he is going against his very nature. Instead, it would be better to just plainly
say that the two have become reliant upon each other because of their
co-dependent life style. The majority of
the symbols and representative art stems from White's dreams or psychotic
visions. He has these images flowing
through his head do not add anything to the film. They are supposed to illustrate either his
mental stability or his spiritual prowess.
The sequences occur so often that they become annoying rather than
insightful. His mental ability is apparent
when one remembers that he is proud to be able to count to ten despite being
eleven. If it supposed to point to the
spiritual aspect, I find that hard to believe since the film confuses naivety
with innocence.
Then
there is the character referred to as the Minotaur. The Minotaur is supposed to be the
manifestation of a certain character's inability to deal with the world after a
specific moment. The problem with this
is that the Minotaur is referred to before that pivotal moment occurs. Does that mean that the Minotaur we witness
is a copy-cat brought about the subconscious of that character remembering a
tall tale and materializing the Minotaur as a form of escapism? The film does not really care if we know or
not. He is just there to tidy up loose
ends like the assassins and illustrate the dependence that that characters has
with one another. This same dependence is
only tested because the same character had decided to screw things up with his
own choice. If he had decided to do the
opposite earlier on, the pointless plot would have been cut off. The whole Minotaur thing was lead up to well
enough with plenty of foreshadowing, but if it was supposed to show the
dependent relationship between two characters, it fails because that was what
the whole rest of the movie was about.
The
only thing that I can say that I liked about this film was the background art
style. The landscape is heavily
detailed. It is like going through an
antique store being crossed with Hong Kong signs popping out everywhere. Good Luck Cats adorn rooftops and amusement
park rides look like coffins. The whole
thing reminds me of the parade in "Paprika" popping up and down with
various Asian chotchkies. As far as art style goes, that is it. The characters are horribly drawn and
animated. I understand that the movie
was based upon a novel, and the film is reflecting the art style of the
book. However, that does not excuse the
characters from looking as ugly as they are.
Every tooth is drawn in a character's mouth. The reason you do not so this is because it
highlights every tooth with a black line.
It makes them look like they have some sort of black mold eating away
from the gums. Everyone that is an adult
has tiny heads and tiny feet like they were standing in front of a funhouse
mirror. The crudely done caricatures
might have worked in a still frame format like a book, but they feel awkward
and unsettling when moving.
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| If only the characters were given this kind of budget. |
Then
there is the amusement park itself.
Black is never seen to be against it.
The other gangsters are against it because it would displace a number of
people that they know and care about.
Black even goes there amid his confused state. If he were sane, it would stand to reason
that he would have gone there with White.
The park never is quite shown why it is a bad thing despite being
portrayed as such. It is the product of
Snake, the film's villain, but it is never quite explained why it is a bad
thing. Snake and his actions are
underhanded and vile, but the park is separate from the individual, especially
considering that it takes so many others to make it. It could be argued that having the park made
displaced a number of people, but the only one shown to be inconvenienced is
the owner of a strip club, and he does not even talk or properly shows up. No one of note to the viewer suffers because
of the park.
Maybe I
am missing the point of this movie and have completely missed what the film is
trying to say. If it is supposed to show
sibling dependence, "Grave of the Fireflies" did it better. If it is supposed to show the troubles of
orphaned kids, there are countless other films to watch. If it supposed to portray those in the yakuza
as both uncaring and gentle, I could watch "Kids Return." If the show is supposed to go off the deep
end and showcase symbolism like no tomorrow, I can entertain myself by reading
cartographic symbols on a map. While I
was watching this film, all I could think about was the various things I would
rather be doing instead of sitting and viewing this film, which just makes it
boring if not average.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
P.S. Tomorrow is "They Live" (1988).
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