May 22 2009
Living in Tokyo Movie Trilogy
Last night I saw, what was for me, the third part in the life in Japan movies. It was the key that the other movies barely, if at all, touched. Heart. And while none of them are Japanese cultural movies, they do show the culture and experience of foreigners living in Japan, or more specifically, Tokyo, as that is what I know from my experience living there. Now, although it is fine as a trilogy, it still does not complete the experience so I have hope that there is either a film that I don’t know about or one will be made in the future for a quartet.
The first of these films made was Lost in Translation, dealing in most part with alienation and dislocation. The experience of alienation is not unique to foreigners in Tokyo, it is also true for locals and possibly most especially, with those that have come from another city or the countryside to work. Alienation can happen in any place and any environment but it seems that there is something that permeates the culture of Tokyo, making it such a large part of everyday life. Maybe it is the close living environment, where privacy must be achieved internally, thus creating an inner mode which becomes so strong that it becomes difficult to break. James Cavell put it interestingly in his book Shogun, where one of the characters described making different rooms in her head.
The Japanese word for foreigner is gaikokujin meaning “foreign country person”, however, the more commonly accepted (if politically incorrect) word for foreigners is gaijin meaning “outside person”. But from what I have seen of Tokyo, everyone has become gaijin.
Although there were other aspects to the film, loneliness pervaded it so much that whenever there was a moment of real connection, it does shone bright through the darkness.
The second film, showing an altogether different aspect, is The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Think what you will of it as a film, but it showed a definite aspect of a young foreign guy’s experience of living in Tokyo. Girls, parties and underground scenes (at least for me). The feeling of “WOW” walking into a party and being a fifteen minute celebrity because you are the only foreigner there. Sure, it can get old pretty fast but when it’s still a wow factor, it’s a hell of a ride.
Last night I saw The Ramen Girl. A heartwarming story about a young girl, semi stranded in Tokyo after her boyfriend dumps her after her arrival.
I would like to insert a note here about being in a long distance relationship with a guy that has moved to Japan. Once he has gotten on that plane, you’ve lost him. Even if he “doesn’t like Asian girls”, he will change his mind once he gets there. I have known many people to be in the situation of guy in Japan, girlfriend back in home country. Either he is just cheating on her or he is strong and holds out for a length of time and then dumps her so he can mess around with J-girls or girl, but it will happen. Don’t waste your time from either position. I have never even heard of a situation like this working.
Going back: After getting dumped, she finds a connection with a ramen shop and the couple that run it and fights her way into their lives. Although the story is fairly simple, the interactions between the girl and the other characters are beautiful and funny in the small clashes of culture, misunderstanding and intentional misunderstanding. Her frustration and growing love (for her understanding) of the culture is done with tenderness and to my mind, some accuracy of the experience.
It is a shame that this movie will largely go unnoticed as I think it is a direct to DVD release in the US. I would hope that it could get at least a limited release in cinemas in some countries (UK? Australia?). It currently only has 5/10 (for only 200 votes (probably imdb trolls that haven’t even seen the movie)) on IMDB and some of the ignorant think it is a remake of Tampopo (1985), which it is most definitely not, although it does use one of the same actors, probably in homage. There is some criticism for what can seem like irrelevant side stories, but I think they are there to give a bigger (and quite genuine) view of the other aspects of her life living there. She did not turn Japanese, she had foreign friends, she could vent and not have the madness of the foreigners who ridiculously “turn Japanese”. Out of these three movies, this shows the most positive aspects of living in a country and people I will always hold dearly in my heart.
Reading this, I feel that it seems a lot like a draft of something I would like to do better and expand but I’ll post it for now and come back to it at a later date.
