ASIAN

Hazard movie review screener!

by Chris   ⋅   May 19, 2007   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Hazard
Sion Sono is proving impossible to pin down. After the blood-spattered proceedings of his semi-supernatural Suicide Club, and the opulent erotic-grotesqueries of Strange Circus, Sono has opted for a stripped down, near-Dogme 95 style tale of rebellious youth and stereotypical American frontier ferocity.

Despite the best efforts of American travel ambassadors, the international perception of America is one of a society gone mad, a culture-free populace comprised of closed minded ignoramuses, hip-hop thuggery, and out and out beasts. The sensationalized reports of violent shootings, gun fetishizing films, and violent videogames that permeate our popular culture often lead the outer world to view America as still locked in the old Wild West mentality. Needless to say, our foreign policy issues aren’t helping this much. American readers may think this absurd, but as a personal example, I present the opinion of a foreign couple I worked for a few years back. They were born and raised in China, educated in Europe — extremely intelligent and personable people. They said that when they came to America for the first time they were surprised that no one had a gun holster on their waist. What with all the action, western, and gangster films we export, they just figured everyone had a gun, ready-cocked to use at any time. With exactly this perception Sion Sono’s Hazard hits the ground running, and never stops for rest.

The main tale of Hazard follows Shin (Joe Odagiri, Shinobi, Wow-Choten Hotel), a bubble-era Japanese college student frustrated with Japan’s “sleep-inducing yet sleepless” society. Trapped by societal pressures and relentless routine he decides to escape to a land of adventure. His destination? “One of the most dangerous cities in the world,”: New York. As soon as he lands in the good old US of A, Shin is confronted by rampant racism, American impatience and rudeness, and injustice, as a group of subway denizens mug him, leaving him stranded and penniless. Shin’s search for food leads him to a small liquor store, where he attempts to shoplift a pastry. Catching him in the act are Lee (Jai West, Survive Style 5+) and Takeda (Motoki Fusumi, Limit of Love: Umizaru), two 20-something Japanese artisan/criminal types who immediately take him under their wing, obtaining the pastry for him by holding up the store. So starts the film’s tale of lasting friendship, drug-laden ice-cream, robbery, literature, poetry and violence.

Aside from American stereotypes, media reports, western and gangster films, Hazard draws quite a bit from French New Wave (in particular Goddard’s free-wheeling criminal youth) and rock-star independents. Keeping with the Dogme reference above, Sono shot the film using only hand-held DV cameras. Furthermore, almost all sequences use single long takes, with the camera floating along as an omnipresent documentarian of the characters on screen. It lends the proceedings a reality that some of the more outlandish elements might otherwise nullify. In fact, in a lot of ways Hazard plays out like a heterosexual Japanese My Own Private Idaho. Most of the time is spent with the crew joking around, hitting on girls, dealing drugs, and living the ever-exciting outlaw life. Many of their encounters feature fresh twists on the standard genre conventions, further infusing the film with its convivial cool. I won’t spoil them here, but suffice it to say they’re brilliantly executed and an absolute joy to watch.

While writer/Director Sion Sono may be writing about perceived American problems, Hazard’s also meant as an exploration of Japanese restrictions, and their potential abandonment through American freedoms. While there’s certainly a bit of animosity there, there’s also a deep infatuation with our nation’s founding ideals. And, in spite of its anti-authoritarian bent, Hazard is all about friendship and loyalty. There’s one key sequence following a rousing “gun-battle” in which a character states to the conflict-seeking Shin that life’s not about making enemies, it’s about making friends. As you make friends, the enemies are bound to come. Sure, it’s slightly obtuse, but still a message worth pondering.

In closing, I simply loved Hazard. It’s an awesome little film, with standout performances by Joe Odagiri and Jai West, a thoroughly engaging story, and skillful direction by Sion Sono. It’s definitely one of my favorite Japanese films I’ve seen this year.

SF Bay Area Residents: Hazard will be screening at SFIndie’s Another Hole in the Head festival, June 4th and 8th, 2007

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic since age six. A former film and English major, he is now a Software Engineer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley.