Tokyo Tribe, 2014
Co-written and directed by Shion Sono
Starring Ryôhei Suzuki, Hitomi Katayama, Shôta Sometani, Akihiro Kitamura, Tomoko Karina, Akihiro Kitamura, Riki Takeuchi, Shunsuke Daitô, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Shôko Nakagawa, Mika Kanô, Ryûta Satô
SYNOPSIS:
Five years after the Shibuya riots, the Tribes of Tokyo have been enjoying a period of relative peace, until Kim and two other members of the Musashino Saru intrude on the territory of the Wu-Ronz in Bukuro. Mera, the leader of Wu-Ronz kills the three Saru, under the assumption that they were members of the Shibuya Saru.
Like his fellow countryman Ryûhei Kitamura, there is a certain expectation one has when going into a movie directed by Japanese madman Shion Sono, and Tokyo Tribe is no exception. From its bizarre set-up to its incredibly insane execution, there is nothing subtle in this hip-hop opera (hip-hopera?), but it sadly doesn’t quite live up to its own potential.
Explaining the plot of Tokyo Tribe is no easy feat. Based upon a Manga of the same name, Tokyo Tribe tells of a future scenario where gang warfare based on hip-hop has split the city into separate areas, controlled by separate groups. Then, a load of madness happens, all told through the medium of rap with one subplot surrounding a crazed maniac wanting to be the biggest in the city by having the biggest penis. Or, something like that anyway. You could think of it as a hip hop version of The Warriors, but that would be giving it too much credit.
This review is not here to criticise the plot, because its intentionally over-the-top, wacky and bonkers. That would be like complaining about a comedy trying to make jokes. The problem with Tokyo Tribe however is not the story, it’s the way that it’s executed. Tokyo Tribe is told mostly through rap songs that, while performed adequately, grow very tiresome very quickly. Even if you’re a fan of hip hop (and Japanese hip hop to be exact), the gimmick becomes tiresome fast and you’ll be craving for people to just sit around and have a normal conversation. And even though the movie is only 116 minutes long, it feels like an eternity becuase it drags its feet with unnecessary musical numbers.
What does work however are the action sequences which match the wacky set-up with the same level of preposterous. Those who are unfamiliar with Japanese martial arts movies might find them to be a bit silly, but Tokyo Tribe is a movie that understands its audience and gives them what they crave. The final battle at the end of the picture is edited sloppily which creates huge holes, but features a giant wall-sized circular saw, like something from the Nintendo Wii game MadWorld, which of course leads to some of the movie’s funnier moments. It won’t exactly rank among the best the genre has to offer, but when the rest of Tokyo Tribe is as miserable as the music, you have to look for the shiny diamonds of entertainment.
It’s funny that Dear White People is showing at the London Film Festival, a movie that questions why non-black people try so desperately to be and act like them when Tokyo Tribe is chock full of Asian actors “acting black”. Tokyo Tribe is not a complete disaster of a movie, but it can only get so far on its gimmick and it sadly doesn’t cut the mustard enough. Some good fight sequences aside, this is one for Shion Sono fans alone.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published October 6, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
