Stumbling upon Japanese films that are particularly weird is not exactly an unusual occurrence, since the local industry seems to thrive in those kind of titles. Yuan Ting Chiang however, who came to Japan from Taiwan on a working holiday and studied filmmaking at Musashino Art University Graduate School, seems to have gone a step even further, by coming up with a genuine indie film, which manages to combine actors for hire, theater, arm wrestling and bear meat in a rather entertaining package that was her graduate thesis.
Kikutaro’s Journey is screening at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival
Kikutaro Oyamada is a theater company actor, who makes his living providing a proxy service in which he pretends to be whatever role is asked of him. One day, during one of his “performances” in a cafe, a woman named Utsumi takes wind of his capacity, after stumbling upon a business card of his, while seeing him offering bear meat to his “client”. Eventually, she asks him to play her wildlife photographer husband who has gone missing and spend time with her father-in-law over the New Year holiday. Kikutaro agrees, and finds himself bonding with his “father-in-law” over trips in the woods, bear-costume performances, and arm wrestling. Eventually, however, he realizes that things are not exactly as he perceived, and that he is not the only actor in the house.
Yuan Ting Chiang directs a rather weird film, which begins by highlighting the fact that something strange is going on in the cafe where the initial scene is taking place, both through the dialogue, but also through the abrupt editing, in a style that is usually implemented in horror movies. As the story progresses, a sense of hilarity is also introduced, although the perplexity of the narrative never actually ceases, instead growing even more. There is however, something particularly amusing in her approach, especially in the way all the characters seem to accept the eccentricities of each other, while bonding over bear meat. The fact that Kikutaro has a tendency to grab things, while the father-in-law likes to get dressed in a bear costume that reminds him of his days working at the zoo adds to this overall sense, which is eventually revealed to be much more permeating than anyone would expect, in a series of rather entertaining twists. Lastly, the arm wrestling element adds another notch to this whole approach, also making a comment about how, sometimes, reality is much more absurd than fiction.
The way Yuan Ting Chiang brings all these elements together is excellent, with the combination of humor and quirkiness working quite well for the movie, and the ending cementing her prowess in the best way. Granted, understanding every comment present here is not exactly easy, but the movie is entertaining enough, even if not everything is explained to the letter.
“Kikutaro’s Journey” is a delightful film, a worthy sample of Japanese movie weirdness, and one of those movies that will definitely leave a smile on the face of the viewer upon its completion.
