Subtitles:

English, none

Extras:

Tokyo is at war, the city carved into pieces with each territory controlled by a variety of hip hop street gangs. Left to their own devices the gangs co-exists in an uneasy balance but when the order is disrupted … watch out, because things are going to get crazy. Sion Sono has long been revered among cult film fans as a sort of patron saint of excess, the director never shying away from indulging his grand – and often bizarre, violent and troubling – visions. And with his adaptation of Santa Inoue's manga Sono has delivered on his grandest scale yet. Shot on a massive set to give the director every possible freedom and opportunity to bring his vision to the screen without any concessions to the real world, Tokyo Tribe delivers a sort of ultra-underground West Side Story with the characters bolder, the drugs flowing freely, and the (mostly) playful violence dial cranked up to eleven. Built around a cast of actual rappers, stunt men, first time actors discovered via open YouTube auditions and cult favorites like Riki Takeuchi, Tokyo Tribe is what happens when an in-the-blood maverick is given financial resources to match the biggest mainstream talents without any of the attendant restrictions. This is entertainment on a grand scale with every frame jammed with amazing imagery and every scene threatening to twist off in unexpected directions. Strap yourself in, Sono's bringing the crazy.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

That style has Tokyo Tribe moving forward at a constant fast pace, with jokes and details packed into every corner, more characters than the audience can possibly process, and moments of jaw-dropping insanity that you can almost imagine Sono giggling as he put them into the script for how silly they are (the beatboxing server in the banquet scenes may have been my favorite thing Sono has ever gone for while she was on-screen). There's garish designs, tanks, slapstick, and other over-the-top madness.

What is going on? Well, as narrator MC Show (Shota Sometani) lays it down, every neighborhood in Tokyo is run by a themed gang kept in balance largely by the central Musashino Saru, whose leader Tera (Ryuta Sato) is all about peace and love. Another gang, the Bukuro Wu-ronz, led by Bubba (Riki Takeuchi), is looking to make a move, and by attacking Mera, sets the other gangs at each other's throats, with even Tera's friend Kai (Young Dais) looking to fight despite being hugely outmatched physically by Bubba's son Mera (Ryohei Suzuki). And if that's not enough, there's a kung fu princess (Nana Seino) hiding out in one of the prefectures, and delivering her to her clan for sacrifice would give Bubba the ally he needs to claim all of Tokyo.

Gary Tooze

June 15th, 2015