“The World of Kanako” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Cast: Koji Yakusho, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Joe Odagiri, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroya Shimizu, Hiroki Nakajima, Ai Hashimoto, Asuka Kurosawa, Miki Nakatani, Hitoshi Hoshino, Mahiro Takasugi, Jun Kunimura
Running Time: 118 min.

By Paul Bramhall

While Japanese mainstream filmmaking has arguably been in a creative slump for a long time, there remains a few directors out there who are worth watching. Sono Sion, Miike Takashi, and Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano are all names that immediately spring to mind. While Tetsuya Nakashima may not be as much as a household name as the others, he’s certainly no less worthy of inclusion. His movies Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko quickly developed a cult following thanks to their hyper edited music video aesthetics and quirky pop culture style, however in 2010 he had a change of pace with Confessions. The story of a grieving school teacher looking to seek revenge on those responsible for the loss of her daughter, it was arguably his most mature work. While it still maintained his unique editing style, Confessions left a lasting impression because of its content rather than its style.

In 2014 Nakashima unleashed The World of Kanako, which is based on a book by Akio Fukamachi. While in Confessions Nakashima was presented with the problem that the actress he’d had in mind for the lead initially turned it down, here he must have got a sense of déjà vu, as the studio the movie was originally pitched to, the legendary Toho Company, flatly refused to make it. Thankfully he had success elsewhere, and The World of Kanako bursts onto the screen like a raging bull from the word go.

From a colorful and retro opening credits sequence, which immediately brings to mind the distinctive pulpy style of a 1960’s Nikkatsu noir (only with expletives like Go to Hell! spliced in at regular intervals) to the introduction of Koji Yakusho’s character, The World of Kanako grabs you by the throat immediately. Yakusho has been acting since the late 70’s, however is likely most recognizable as the leader of the 13 Assassins, in Miike Takashi’s 2010 remake of the same name. I use the term ‘most recognizable’ very loosely, as here he plays a disheveled former detective who’s reached rock bottom. A suspected schizophrenic manic depressive who’s both violent and sexually abusive, Yakusho is like a hellish hybrid of Kim Yoon-seok’s detective turned pimp from The Chaser, Takeshi Kitano’s Violent Cop, and Anthony Wong’s pill popping Bobby from Beast Cops.

When he receives a phone call from his ex-wife, in which she reveals their daughter Kanako hasn’t come home for several days, some kind of base parental instinct makes him crawl out from under the rock he’s been living under, and make an attempt to find her. The World of Kanako is a bold movie in that its central character that Yakusho portrays is completely unlikable, however to both his and Nakashima’s credit we remained glued to the screen in a desire to follow him down into the depths of his investigation. There’s a reference to falling down the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland in The World of Kanako, and it quickly becomes clear that we’re going to go down a rabbit hole which is very deep indeed.

Unlike his previous movies, here the hyper editing style has a specific link to the character we’re watching. The rapid cuts, and almost hallucinogenic nature of the images, play like a visual representation of the effect the prescribed pills Yakusho takes have on his brain. A perfect example is the recurring dream like perfect image that he keeps having, of what looks to be his former life with a happy wife and daughter in their family home. However at some point during the movie he wakes up in a drunken stupor, and we see the image he’s been having up until this point is actually a commercial for a new housing development that’s been playing on TV. Smart touches like this ensure Nakashima keeps the audience on their toes while watching.

It’s not long before both his ex-wife, and we as the viewer, begin to regret unleashing Yakusho back into the world, as soon he’s rampaging through Saitama beating people half to death, sexually assaulting women, and offering drugs to teenagers in an attempt to find the whereabouts of Kanako. But the more he uncovers, the more we realize that perhaps the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Kanako increasingly becomes a figure that represents someone not entirely different from her father. The concept of hereditary insanity has been touched on before in the likes of Park Chan-wook’s Stoker, but whereas that movie used suspense and sudden outbursts of violence to convey its message, The World of Kanako goes for a more direct approach. The world the characters are living in here is one of a depraved nightmare, and Nakashima keeps us right in the thick of it throughout.

Kanako herself is played by newcomer Nana Komatsu, who delivers an effective performance that balances the fine line between innocence and psychosis. We learn of who she is in flashbacks to 3 years earlier, that see her develop a relationship with a bullied classmate while grieving for her boyfriend that committed suicide. To go into any more detail about her character would really involve going into spoiler territory, but for those who got a kick out of movies like Miike Takashi’s Audition, there should be enough in The World of Kanako to strike a similar chord, although it should be noted that no razor wire or needles are used here.

That being said, The World of Kanako at times becomes an extremely gruesome affair. Yakusho himself starts the movie in an already disheveled white suite, his face covered in a constant layer of sweat, and as events progress both the suit and his face gradually become more and more dirty, bloodied, and ripped. The arrival of Jo Odagiri as a corrupt cop, and a gang of yakuza, leads to a number of scenes which are borderline shocking in their level of violence and bloodshed, which for some will most likely be too much.

As you can easily tell, The World of Kanako is far from a happy movie, however it is an energetic one. The fast paced editing and plot is constantly thrust forward by a selection of tunes that would make Tarantino proud, both western and Japanese. The narrative structure is also thrown out of whack at several points, mixing up scenes and playing with time, which makes it difficult to stop watching even if you wanted to. Nakashima has created a thoroughly unpleasant world here, filled with repugnant characters and their victims, however he constructs it in such a way that for the 2 hours that we’re there, it’s hard to leave.

The final scenes take place in a snow covered landscape, not dissimilar to the way OldBoy comes to a close. However unlike in that movie, in which the unbroken white landscape represents a chance to start over, here it represents a blank canvas for Yakusho to get lost in his own insanity even further. For the audience, The World of Kanako provides a rabbit hole to fall into, but thankfully, unlike the characters within it, at the end of the 2 hours for us the fall is over.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8/10

"100 Yen Love" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Masaharu Take
Writer: Shin Adachi
Cast: Sakura Ando, Hirofumi Arai, Miyoko Inagawa, Saori Koide, Shohei Uno, Tadashi Sakata, Yozaburo Ito, Osamu Shigematu, Toshie Negishi, Ruka Wakabayashi
Running Time: 113 min.

By Martin Sandison

As well as being a beautiful and cultural place, my home city of Edinburgh, Scotland has one of the longest-running film festivals in the world, this year being the 69th. This time the festival has been one of the best in my memory, with a varied line up and many nations represented. The festival has always had a substantial Asian cinema representation, and this year was no different. Previous entrants have included Oldboy, Motorway, Life Without Principle and Hero.

100 Yen Love looked to be a good one to watch, and I wasn’t disappointed. Star Sakura Ando appeared in one of my favourite Japanese movies Sion Sono’s Love Exposure at the tender age of 22, and her performance is one of the most memorable things about that film. From then on she appeared in numerous television series and films, notable ones including Takashi Miike’s For Love’s Sake (his over the top musical based on a Manga), and Nao Kubota’s Homeland, the first commercial Japanese film set in Fukushima since the nuclear crisis. One of three films Ando made in 2014, 100 Yen Love represents her as an actress at the top of her game. The movie is a great vehicle for her talents, and manages to shine in many other aspects. Director Masaharu Take balances these aspects with a great eye and ability as a story teller.

At the beginning of the film Ando’s character is an early 30’s slacker who is living with her family in Tokyo. She has so many arguments with them that she decides to move out, and finds an apartment and a job in a shop. Every day she walks past a boxing gym, and eventually strikes up a relationship with one of the boxers, Yuuji. In the end she decides to take up boxing herself, and the film ends with her first professional fight. Not a boxing film per se, the movie is really a character study with boxing as a means of redemption for Ichiko. Along the way there are comedic touches, disturbing moments and intensely choreographed boxing scenes.

After watching Love Exposure, Ando’s wonderful portrayal of a girl who is at first manipulative and twisted, but some how ends up lovable was a joy to behold. 100 Yen Love manages to see her handle an even more complex character with similar aplomb, navigating the twists and turns of the plot. I was discussing the film with a guy who did the post-film Q & A with Ando and Take, and he thought every character in the film, even Ichiko, had very few redeeming features. I would disagree, as Ando creates a picture of Ichiko as a misunderstood and pure hearted girl who never stops fighting.

The film is littered with memorable scenes; Ichiko trying to eat the toughest steak ever cooked while crying, numerous scenes between Ichiko and a homeless woman who she gives discarded food, Ichiko beating the crap out of her A-hole boss after she’s had some boxing training, and of course the riveting boxing scenes. Ichiko’s transformation from slacker to boxer is fist-pumping stuff, and as the narrative is so coherent everything fits in to place.

Director Take really comes in to his own with this film, which is a complete change of pace from his previous one Unsung Hero, a great effort in the Chambara genre. That film had a pretty high budget and a traditional style, whereas 100 Yen Love is low budget and modern Japanese style. Take proves in the action department he is a versatile director, as Unsung Hero includes large scale battles, whilst 100 Yen Love’s final fight is up close and personal. Apparently the fight was shot over a 16-hour period, and the action was pre-choreographed. A problem with a lot of the films we love is that the narrative is just a means to include as much action as possible, sacrificing character development; in 100 Yen Love there is so much investment in the protagonist that by the end that fight pay-off creates a strong emotion in the viewer. This is assisted by close-in angles, fluid editing and crunching sound effects, so you can really feel the heat of the battle. The use of slow motion during a crucial part of the fight also had me in raptures, as Ichiko finally uses her killer left hand.

The obvious touchstone for 100 Yen Love is the classic boxing biopic Raging Bull, however the approach to character and narrative is very different when comparing both. The latter is a picture of a violent, volatile man who progresses in the ring but destroys his life out of it. 100 Yen Love portrays Ichiko as a girl who by the end wants to better herself, and boxing gives her this outlet. In the end the movie does follow a classic underdog story, but leaves enough room for originality and quirkiness so that it transcends this archetype.

A problem that is apparent from the earlier parts of the film is that most of the main characters apart from Ichiko are pretty nasty pieces of work, and it is difficult to find positives in their depiction. Yuuji himself treats Ichiko like dirt, and uses her for his own ends. Ichiko’s sleazy co-worker is perhaps the worst out of the lot, a real first class idiot.

However these are but minor faults in a movie that has heart, emotion, style and great acting. I can’t wait to see where star Ando and director Take go next.

Martin Sandison’s Rating: 8/10