Kyoko

****PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER because it contains spoilers!! Just watch the film, trust me.********

This film pleasantly surprised me-- I recommend it whole-heartedly.

I found this film randomly at the library one day, and picked it up having no expectations. (Why hadn't I heard of it?'' I wondered. Answer: because it's independently produced.) The DVD box relays the following information: "Twenty-one year old Kyoko journeys to New York to visit a former-GI, Jose, who taught her the joy of Latin dance as a young girl. She discovers that Jose is terminally ill and unable to remember her."

So, going into the film, I had some ideas of my own about how the plot could be handled. Without discussing plot or the conclusion of the movie, I can assure you I was wrong with any assumptions I had.

Maybe it's because of the international involvement (Japan & US production) or the subject matter that I found 'Because of You' to be very original. Given the elements of the film (OK, we have Dance + Cuba + New York + Japan + AIDS), a lot of different things could be done.. but 'Because of You' does not play into stereotyping, and shows a diverse portrayal of life in America, in my opinion. I thought it was interesting to see the social interactions between the different cultures as well. (Spanish and Japanese are used at points throughout the film-- the Japanese director isn't afraid to give audiences authenticity.)

Although made in 1995, the film's messages still speak to today's audiences, but not in an preachy manner or anything.

Overall the movie is enjoyable to watch, and has the elements of a great film: great acting, good use of cinematography, compelling plot & even a great soundtrack. I recommend this movie; you should see it.

This is a very nice little film that is (1) a Japanese picture about AIDS and AIDS prejudices, (2) an American road movie complete with the classic drive into the American South, (3) an homage to Cuban dancing. The first and third of these genres work extremely well, the second less so. (Why is the South always portrayed as the dark subconscious of the American psyche? The version here may be somewhat less horrific than that confronted by Fonda, Nicholson and Hopper in Easy Rider, but it's a difference of degree rather than of kind.) The music in this film is fabulous and with the success of the Buena Vista Social Club, producer Roger Corman et al are missing a serious opportunity for some cross marketing here.

The story itself just didn't grab me. But the shots of mid-90s New York City, ranging from street scenes to skyline views with the World Trade Center, were much appreciated. Also appreciated are the music and dance sequences near the end which feature some amazing Cuban performers, including an elderly couple who perform a memorable dance sequence. The fact that this was released on video-only in the U. S. *four years* after its Japanese theatrical release is notable. Boxcover design oddly has no stills with character of Jose, but features the chauffeur character on both front and back.

Allow me to preface this by saying I thoroughly enjoy several of Ryu Murakami's novels and find his film "Tokyo Decadence" to be highly underrated. ("Tokyo Degeneracy" would've been an equally apt title).

That brings us to Kyoko / Because of You / Dance with Me, which I had taken the effort to seek out and import due to curiosity and being impressed with Tokyo Decadence. Unfortunately I've been left thoroughly disappointed to the point of confusion.

Everything in Tokyo Decadence that suggested competency is missing in Kyoko, everything. Kyoko plays off as amateurish for the duration of its runtime, mostly delivering cringeworthy results and at others unexpected hilarity.

I really regret not taking notes whilst viewing Kyoko so I could truly convey how awful this movie is, since I have no intention of seeing it again, points from memory will have to do.

Every performance in this movie is uniformly terrible, that lead actress Saki Takaoka received any kind of recognition for this role and even awards boggles the mind, this is not to say she is a terrible actress, she may well be a master thespian in her native tongue, unfortunately she can barely pronounce an english sentence with any kind of coherence and it's genuinely painful to watch, equally painful to say is that she is a mediocre dancer at best - the little girl in the brief flashback scenes even outdoes her in this department, she does have a charming, childlike naivety in a handful of scenes but that's the absolute most positive thing I can say about her in this film.

One scene toward the end of the first act is genuinely reminiscent of something out of a David Lynch film, Kyoko is at a bar with an obsessive chauffeur and the barman who is a native English speaker talks in "Engrish" throughout the whole scene, Kyoko then dances in stilted fashion with cuts to bar patrons watching like mannequins - the scene is one of the highlights of the movie and is truly bizarre.

The cinematography is flat and often poorly lit, it's hard to believe that "Tokyo Decadence" was so well shot and was followed up by this, it's a truly dull looking film.

Really hoping that the language barrier and ultra low budget is what resulted in Kyoko being such a misfire but we'll likely never know, if this is to be Murakami's final directorial effort it's a great shame. Some moments of unintentional humour may make this worthwhile for a select few but mostly it is just painful to sit through.

2/10.