Friday, June 27, 2008

Adrift in Tokyo

The people behind Turtles Swim Faster Than Expected bring this similarly absurdist, more pointless tale of a walkabout.

A perpetual student who is behind in his debts is visited by a collection agent who, having killed his wife and decided to surrender himself to the police, offers to forgive the debt in exchange for company on his walk to the police station.

The result is an ambling tour of Tokyo as the two characters reminisce and encounter individuals of all sorts: a violent tatami-mat vendor, an elderly costumed locker room thief, well-known actor Ittoku Kishibe, a vengeful watch repairman, a baby hippopotamus, and a roller-skating guitarist. In fact, the only people they don't run into are the three coworkers of his wife (the spy couple and ramen chef from Turtles), who try to track her down in the midst of life's daily distractions (e.g. hair smelling funny, being cast as extras in a film, etc).

Unfortunately the leisurely stroll ends about halfway through the film, as the characters bond and try to reach some form of resolution.


* * * R A T I N G * * *

Tenten(NYAFF, IMDB)

Wince : [**___]
Flinch : [**___]
Retch : [*____]
Gape : [***__]

Beerequisite : [***__]
Pornability : [*____]
Obscurity : [**___]
Explicability : [**___]

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