Bloodtype Online

Shinya Tsukamoto 

    When a successful advertising executive loses his girlfriend to suicide, his magnificently desperate obsession with obtaining a gun pulls him deeper into the ugly underworld of Japan.  Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man) writes, directs and stars in this gritty black and white exploration of self-destruction.  The cinematography is exceptional—this is a classic noir world of shadow, dripping pipes, exposed light bulbs, fatalistic dialogue and penetrating stares.   

    Our businessman, Goda (Shinya Tsukamoto) wanders about just begging to get himself in trouble.  He needs a gun; he’s hurting. Even though everyone thinks he’s coping just fine, this guy is so far gone that he’s become pathetic.  What kind of a dumb ass follows a gang girl (who kicked his ass on a prior occasion) into a dark alley?  This guy.  Ass kicking?  You bet.  And her gang is glorious—drug taking, rockabilly punks.  They stand on the edges of train platforms so that the passing cars scrape their boots.  They talk on cell phones while they pummel a rival gang.  They can’t wait to catch death.  The whole thought of it arouses them.  Watching them while this pounding music plays—I admit it, they were cool as fuck.   

    Goda is a glutton for punishment on his quest.  Nobody close to him is the type to know how to get a gun.  He tries the Yakuza, but they rip him off.  He turns to the Internet and learns how to build a gun. In one of the film’s more psychologically tense moments, he makes his own bullets.  He loses his homemade pistol and gets his ass kicked again, but it wasn’t good enough anyway.  He still tries to get another gun.  Meanwhile, our lovable gang of greasy thugs gets more and more fried and reckless and Goda just can’t seem to stay away from them.   

    The best way to describe the pacing of the film is that it is a full run chase after death that collapses in exhaustion, leaving every character vulnerable. This may leave many viewers disappointed as the film nears its end.  After being dragged in by the fast pace of the music and visual style, it’s only natural to expect a gigantic explosion. You’ve been watching a love affair with pain.  You’ve seen one of the greatest boxing knockouts ever shown on film.  You’ve seen a street gang rumble.  You’ve watched a film about a gun obsession that brilliantly barely uses guns at all.  Yet, you get an out of breath ending, which, in spite of itself, still works.  It may even be a little closer to reality.  Acts of frenzied self-destruction and violence quickly spin out of control, leaving everyone cowering in the corner waiting for the consequences of their acts to come and get them.  There’s no fight left. 

    “This is no paradise.  But if you forget about what might have been, you’ll get to like it.” 

*** 1/2

-Jennie Milojevic