Tokyo Rampage (aka: Porno Star) — movie review
It’s always a bit odd having being introduced to an exciting director in the later stages of their work, and then going back to see how he or she started. Sometimes they prove just as good at the start of their career as they were later, but more often than not, the techniques that wowed you are found only in their fledgling stages, the director being something of an awkward adolescent fumbling toward later greatness. Such is the case with Tokyo Rampage, Toshiyaki Toyoda’s third film, and arguably the least of his pictures I’ve seen so far. In fact, I am grateful that I was introduced to him with 9 Souls, for had Tokyo Rampage been my introduction, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to remember his name.
Similar to the recently reviewed Graveyard of Honor, Tokyo Rampage is another tale of rampant nihilism centering on a sociopath anti-hero, at war with the world around him. This time around the subject is a maladjusted youth, Arano (Koji Chihara), who takes it upon himself to rid society of its unnecessary element, namely Yakuza. To this he offers no real reasoning beyond the occasional utterance of “not needed,” but when the opportunity arises, he makes Charles Bronson look a sissy. When not killing thugs, our protagonist sets about lighting matches, learning to skateboard, pal-ing around with a small street-gang, and dabbling in a possible drug trade with a cute young hostess girl whose eye he happened to catch. Sort of A Bande Apart meets Death Wish.
At its heart, Tokyo Rampage is an meditation on Tokyo’s disaffected youth, and a critique of Japanese societal ills, but Toyoda’s approach is a bit clumsy and unfocused (I would recommend Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Bright Future in its stead). You don’t really care too much about anyone in the picture, or their perceived hardships. This in turn translates to your not really caring whether they succeed or fail in their respective endeavors. If Toyoda was seeking to impart a youthful ambivalence on the audience, he definitely succeeded. But even as a vengeance film, Tokyo Rampage is fairly uninspired and tedious. The action is shocking, but somehow empty and unfulfilling. There are some beautiful and eerie sequences to be found, specifically those involving a “violent” rain and peaceful skateboarding, but again, not really anything that promotes an emotional response.
But the whole absence of feeling does mirror the nature of the film’s protagonist. Not once does Arano ever display any real emotion, whether love, hate, lust or even mere annoyance. His motivations are relegated to blank stares, fits of deep laughter, and explosions of violence. But it is this sheer absence of emotion and humanity that makes this character so unnerving. You’re never quite sure what he’ll do, or when he does do it, why. Actor Koji Chihara (one scary looking dude, I might add) does an admirable job in the role, though I’m not sure exactly how much effort is really needed to make oneself seem completely devoid of emotion.
Keeping with the emotion discussion, it’s worth mentioning the evolution of the film’s title. The final American release title, Tokyo Rampage, would seem to imply that the main character goes on a spree of rage induced violence, but the character being something of an alarmingly calm wallflower, the rampage part seems a bit of a misnomer. The original Japanese name, Porno Star, would seem more appropriate given the unfeeling nature of the character and the shocking acts on screen. However, Porno Star is not a title that could possibly hope to appear on the shelves of the local Blockbuster Video (remember The Legend of Ron Jeremy, anyone?). Tokyo Psycho, the film’s end credits title, wouldn’t work either, with Panik House having just released Ataru Oikawa’s Tokyo Psycho on DVD. So, Tokyo Rampage it is.
Toyoda (Hanging Garden) is a man of few words and many deep thoughts, so I have no doubt he put a lot of time and effort into Tokyo Rampage…it’s just that he’s become better at managing and exercising said resources in recent years. Fans of 9 Souls will appreciate the guitar soundtrack by Dip, and Toyoda’s intriguing visuals, but for the most part Tokyo Rampage is nothing to rave about.
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