Tokyo Fist

This is a hardcore boxing film with a jagged masochistic edge, which follows the lives of three people. Two of whom are joined together by a catastrophic childhood event.

Tsuda, an insurance salesman shuffles his way through the streets and apartments of Tokyo without purpose. He is utterly fatigued and drained of energy. He stops throughout his working day to lean against the high-rise buildings of the metropolis. He looks both fragile and small in comparison to the huge high rise buildings.

Tsuda’s life is fraught with constant stress. His father is dying in hospital. His relationship with his fiancé Hizuro is slowly disintegrating due to frequent jealous outbursts and his possessive behaviour. His profession as a salesman offers no real fulfilment and he worries about his pension. As he struggles through the day the sinister skyscrapers shadow his entire progress, like steely malevolent demons that block out all hope and light.

The city and the modern architecture play a crucial part in this film as previously seen in both Tetsuo and Tetsuo II. The city definitely represents a silent character in the plot and story. It is a prominent feature in the entire film. The skyscrapers have a machine like strength and Tsukamoto emphasises their impersonal structures by filming them at extreme angles. He also illustrates the vulnerability and frailty of the community that live and work under the constant shadows of these huge towering monstrosities.

The skyscrapers are stripped of colour; they are completely grey and bland. One wonders how anything could possibly flourish in this sterile environment. Tsukamoto ingeniously illustrates in his filming the monstrous size and soulless eyes of this icy metropolis. The air is humid and stifling, the city appears to drain Tsuda of all his energy, leaving him exhausted to the point of illness. He represents weakness; the skyscrapers symbolize strength and power. The city becomes a leech sucking out any ambition, desire or genuine emotion from his mind and body.

Tsuda and Hizuro live their lives in quiet desperation at the beginning of the story. Both are well-mannered members of society, following the patterns of life perhaps passed on to them by their parents. Hizuro is going to be a wife and eventually a mother, Tsuda has already planned and purchased his pension plan and intends to be the male earner and the provider in the relationship. He takes extreme offence when Hizuro suggest she can still continue to work after they are married. Their emotions are reserved throughout the early scenes in the film, which Tsukamoto films in deep blue icy tones, once again using talent of communicating the story through colour.

As Kojima enters the life of Tsuda and Hizuro we see vibrant colours fill the screen for the first time. In the scene in which Kojima propositions Hizuro, the room is bathed in bright orange and yellow light. This indicates that perhaps Kojima’s world has warmth flowing through it even if his emotions are tilted to extreme levels. Kojima is the opposite of both Tsuda and Hizuro. He is uninhibited and self-destructive he speaks his mind. To him Tsuda is a failure, a man who has sacrificed his fervent nature and his individuality for his conformity.

The film does convey the idea that a life in which people withhold their emotions is one fraught with danger. People who continually suppress their real feelings over time have the capacity to develop a smouldering barely controlled rage. In the case of all three characters this brutal masochistic fury is unleashed to the point of madness. The masks of everyday politeness are discarded. Once they are set loose the chaos that is created is immeasurable.

When Tsuda practices boxing and begins to release energy by fighting, he become less tired. There is also an enormous amount of male rage teething inside of him. He lets this rage burst from him throughout the film, showing us that in fact this change in direction is a much-needed transition in his life.

Hizuro’s transformation is excessive in every way. Once she pulls away from the limitations of society and male dominance, she destroys herself by experimenting and journeying to far into a dark world of self-mutilation. Being a good girlfriend and future wife has driven her entire life. Her true power and strength have been hidden beneath layers of subservience and etiquette. When she finally breaks free she destroys herself. It begins with her finding pleasure with pain, soon after piercing her ears. She moves on to experiment with sadomasochism. She feels sexual pleasure when Kojima pulls her pierced nipple almost tearing it from the skin. The existence of physical pain and pleasure is prominent during her change. Eventually she inserts metal bars into the flesh in her arms. The objects she uses for self-mutilation resemble to the materials that are used to build the skyscrapers and the city that dominate the skies of her home. Hizuro becomes less than human, she could in fact be seen as moulding and becoming one with the metropolis.

When Kojima wins the boxing match he is dying. As he takes his last breath Tsukamoto uses a short animation sequence to show Kojima’s screaming face being swallowed and suffocated by the earth. Even Hizuro chooses to end her life amongst the stone and metal of the underground, the dark belly of the city. That precious liquid that flows through her veins and gives her life, eventually sprays the earth and stone. Both Kojima and Hizuro can be seen as being devoured by the city.

The boxing shots are filmed with unsurpassable kinetic speed and energy, you can feel the power behind the punches with Tsukamoto’s mesmerising filming and editing. Once again these scenes have the intensity of a video game. The music fits perfectly emphasising the incredible forceful visualization of the combating.

Tsuda at the end of the film appears as man in a suit, battered and bruised but able to function once again. After all that has happened he has not only survived the events but has also managed to enter society once again. This makes one ask the question, can only the conformists survive in the soulless metropolis? Is the environment only successful for those who follow its rules and live as machines not individuals? However Tsuda smiles, something that we have not seen in the entire film. His smile gives us hope that the horrific events throughout the film have been a necessary and could perhaps alter his life in the future.

© 2004 Roseanna.Lawrence@Minadream.com