Tokyo Drifter
Directed by: Seijun Suzuki
Starring: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, & Hideaki Nitani
Released: 1966
Country of Origin: Japan
Runtime: 89 min.
Years ago, my old roommate kept pestering me to watch something by Seijen Suzuki. He claimed it was something I desperately needed to see and even had a copy of Tokyo Drifter sitting atop our DVD player for many months. Yet I didn't watch it. It's not that I didn't want to see it, I just had many other films on the horizon I had planned to watch, which is always the case. People recommend films to me all the time, something that comes with the territory of being a self-professed film nerd. However, there are very few people who have the cinematic clout to warrant checking out a film immediately. I'm not trying to sound like an elitist ass, but that's just how it is. When your current list of films to watch is over 500 titles long, you have to be a little selective on who you listen to. My old roommate, Brian is one of those people I will usually listen to. (minus my refusal to watch The New World with Colin Ferrell, no matter how much he goes on about it) He is partially responsible for my love for the works of Robert Bresson and Jean-Luc Godard, so I really should have listened to him 4 years ago. He was right, I really needed to see Tokyo Drifter, yet it's a film I don't think will be appealing for everyone.
Seijen Suzuki had a bit of a crazy relationship with the studio he worked for in Japan. After years of working for Nikkatsu Studios, Suzuki became restless and a little crazy. He started indulging his artistic whims and began making films that were increasingly bizarre and unconventional, at least for major Japanese studios in the 50's and 60's. If you know anything about the Japanese film industry in that period, which I'm guessing you don't, it wasn't one that upheld the notion of individualistic film-making. Film-makers employed by major studios were expected to churn out films that were made fast, cheap, and marketed for mass appeal. Some of this may be residual effects from the 30's, when the Japanese government had their hands in the pockets of most major studios. It wasn't until the post-war period, when an increasing American influence in both art and social dynamics began sweeping the nation, that directors had chances to explore their more stylistic and expressive natures. Still, by 1966 when Tokyo Drifter was released, there was some remnants of that cookie-cutter film aesthetic left intact. Before filming, Nikkatsu Studios told Suzuki to "play it straight" and even cut his budget and shooting time in hopes to keep him reigned in. When he delivered Tokyo Drifter to them, it was nothing sort of a middle finger straight in their faces.
Plot wise, Tokyo Drifter is your typical yakuza style film. It follows a stylishly cool ex-yakuza, Tetsu as he tries to reform and stay grounded within the law. Plot isn't this film's strong point, at times the story is a tad hard to follow. There are several gaps that can leave you scratching your head as you try to catch up with what's going on. This is a film built almost entirely on style. It's because of the over-indulgence in style that this flick is so gosh darn entertaining to watch. Even from its over-saturated black and white opening, you can tell this is something a little off from the Japanese norm. Some of the pacing and editing reminds me a bit of Godard's more frenetic films, and with the the unique and vibrant use of colored lighting, a comparison to elements of Tarantino's Kill Bill is defiantly not out of place. The first half of the film is more on the restrained side, as Tetsu navigates a business deal gone bad and a murder involving his old yakuza boss, but once he hits the road to drift, the film really lets go and goes nuts. Suzuki also inserts a sly sense of humor throughout and packs in elements as far ranging as westerns, musicals and a subtle nod to slap-stick comedy. Once a brawl brawl broke out at a western style saloon, complete with a French stripper beating up American navy men, this film had me sold. While it's not without it's flaws, I'm looking forward to re-visiting this movie and will be looking into more of Seijen Suzuki's work. After this film, Suzuki went on to further alienate himself with the studio, pushing the limits of their patience until they eventually canned him for his "incomprehensibility."
FINAL VERDICT: This one isn't for everyone. I'm a bit of Japanese film junkie, so I'm far more inclined to enjoy and appreciate this, but if you can handle plot holes and some general craziness then check it out. Suzuki's work has influenced many gangster films since it's release and that alone might make it worth watching if your into looking into the past to see where some of your favorite films stole their style. Other then that, this one is going to appeal to a select group of people but you never know, something like this could open a door for you into the great world off 50's and 60's Japanese cinema.
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