Blue is very much the colour in Eiichi Kudo's "Yokohama BJ Blues", a laidback story of a private detective-cum-blues singer among the grottier parts of Yokohama. But the blue tint throughout and soundtrack don't portray a sadness, but a cool given off by its star Yusaku Matsuda.
BJ meets with his old friend, now a detective, when they are ambushed; the detective left dead. His young partner believes BJ is responsible, interrogating and trailing him around the city. Meanwhile, BJ delves into the underworld of the city, looking to clear his name, as well as performing at the blues club and meet with his various girlfriends.
All around him is anger and chaos, but BJ barely flinches at anything, letting everyone else take care of themselves, leaving him to walk away from it all to the next song.
For this to work, it requires several things. Alongside the blue tint throughout, Seizo Sengen's cinematography has a mix of distance shots and cropped close-ups, giving both a mix of Yokohama's urban, port city sprawl and the unmoved expressions of BJ, making this the portrait of a man in the city.
The Blue Note aesthetic needs a decent soundtrack to go with it, which this has, with Matsuda having the right look and delivery for the part. Indeed, this is very much a Matsuda piece, bouncing around the city with a nonchalant swagger, unphased by anything put in his way. Whether arriving at a girlfriend's apartment and finding her in bed with another man, but still needing his nap time; or being shot at.
This is, therefore, a little surface-level, all about the look and style, but makes for an entertaining and enjoyable watch. Indeed, you'd happily watch BJ in another scenario as a recurring character in a series of films, though maybe not quite to Tora-san levels.
For an aesthetically-driven film, there are a number of obvious downfalls. The plot isn't particularly groundbreaking, and BJ is somewhat bulletproof in the face of danger. Some scenes also feel a little throw-in for the sake of it; and there is a somewhat out-of-place playful scene that is obscure more than anything.
This is a lovely dollop of Seventies to Eighties cool coming out of the grot and the grime. It looks the part, sounds the part, with the right lighting to get you through an early hours viewing.
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