Héroes al rescate

Director Satoshi Kon has concocted a little wonder of an animated film, a character based ensemble action comedy about thwarted families, homelessness in Tokyo and strange twists of fate. A loose knit trio of homeless companions (an alcoholic ex-bike rider, a teenage fugitive runaway and a castoff drag queen) find a baby on top of a trash heap at Christmas, and find themselves caring for the child while hunting down her parents. Warm, funny and as action-packed as many an anime (with hilarious action set pieces), this one's a charmer. Sure, it's always possible to do these kind of things in live action (more or less) but thank God we have a filmmaker of Kon's vision applying his ample animation skills to stories like this. It ain't all cardfighters, bounty hunters and grim vampire killers. Sometimes, it's people, too. (not that there are anything wrong with cardfighters, bounty hunters and grim vampire killers... well, o.k., maybe cardfighters)

No spoilers - you just have to see it. Satoshi Kon continues his directorial success with Tokyo Godfathers. Like Perfect Blue and Millennium actress, TG wows the watcher immediately with the attention to detail. The scenes are exquisitely painted - when it is snowing you can almost smell it and feel the stillness. And the characters expressions convey emotions expertly by subtlety or caricature as occasion demands. Leave behind your Hollywood ideas of what a movie or worse, a cartoon should be. And then go see his previous two films as well. Satoshi Kon's films are true works of art.

Satoshi Kon's atypical holiday tale deals with our three main vagabonds and a choice deeply affecting them. Despite what level in life you find yourself, humans share similar basic emotions or feelings. For Gin, Hana, and the less than cheery Miyuki, an unexpected find makes them confront their past whether they like it or not. Memories flow bringing times of happiness, regret, pain, and questions of what could've been. There's a great character richness in this darker, grimier side of Tokyo, but Kon also manages to put in lots of random, humorous events especially by cameos from minor citizens. Plus, how could you not laugh with Hana's feminine wiles and that manly voice! There's a strong sense of karma here with "what goes around comes around". Doing nice things and you most likely will be rewarded. However, turn your back or refusing to help someone in need may come back to haunt you when you are stuck with no one to turn to. Hey, maybe it's never too late to learn a lesson, no matter how much it hurts.

Satoshi Kon's not presenting an Aesop's fable here, but like in life, sometimes doing a good deed is the best reward in itself.

I was able to see "Tôkyô Godfathers" at its premiere in New York. Sadly, the film was not added to the IMDb until months later, so I've had to sit on my comments for some time.

I'm a big fan of director Satoshi Kon. Both of his previous films feature stories and issues not normally seen in animated films. "Godfathers" continues this happy trend and goes even further by covering subjects not normally associated with Japan, period. Homelessness, immigrants, and homosexuality all play key elements in this tale.

Perhaps the biggest difference here is the comedy, something Kon's previous films did not approach. "Perfect Blue" was a dark thriller and "Sennen Joyû" was more of a tearjerker. "Godfathers" is played for laughs, which for me weakened the movie a little bit. Some of the more outrageous moments made the other theatergoers crack up, but I felt it was a little too silly at times.

While I would describe "Tôkyô Godfathers" as the weakest of Kon's three films to date, that's hardly a knock since his first two are among my favorites. "Godfathers" was just missing something, but I still openly recommend it to anyone, regardless of your disposition towards anime.

This is a Christmas story told from a different perspective, that is strangely familiar. The story revolves around 3 homeless people (a middle aged man name Gin, a homosexual cross-dresser name Hana, and a teenage girl named Miyuki) who discover a newborn baby in the garbage. The events follow the three as they decided what to do with the baby, trying to find the parents, dealing with their own pasts,etc (Christmas seems to be an introspective time - along with all holidays). After the first 30 minutes of the movie, everything becomes strangely predictable yet still moving and meaningful. The movie is laced with "coincidences" and tons of Christmas references. It touches on numerous subjects including family, guilt, redemption,etc. Satoshi Kon delivers another beautiful looking movie with a humanistic storyline. And in true Satoshi Kon fashion adds a touch of the bizarre to shake up the traditional story. This movie will be added to my Christmas holiday viewing list, which gets me into the XMAS spirit.

-Celluloid Rehab