“Tetsu Kono's Crazy Routine” works as a companion piece of sorts to “The Troubled Troubadour” (through the protagonist Tetsu Kono) another short by Forest Ian Etsler and Sebastien Simon, with the purpose being of expanding the whole project to a feature at some point. Since 2005, Tetsu Kono, a middle-aged Japanese man, has come from Tokyo to South Korea on a monthly basis in order to attend an average of twenty Korean film festivals annually, while revealing very little to others about himself and about his marginal existence in Japan. Forest Ian Etsler and Sebastien Simon follow his journey from the moment he arrives in Seoul, while talking to him in English.
“Tetsu Kono's Crazy Routine” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
They follow him through 2014 while he talks with people in the festivals who recognize him, while a big part of the documentary takes place in the airport, just before he leaves for Japan, with Kono talking to the camera, explaining this particular part of his life, and his festival run. The question about him having a different job in Japan does appear a number of times, with him eventually revealing that he makes a living by writing about music and doing some part-time jobs after midnight. However, no one is actually eager to ask for more details, which is somewhat annoying, although this part can be attributed to the fact that Kono is somewhat secretive. Although his overall demeanor does not suggest anything particularly shady, his secretiveness, as much as the fact that his two front teeth are broken, could suggest otherwise, with the mystery actually working quite well for the documentary.
Eventually, the interview becomes more personal with him revealing he also has to visit his mom in the hospital and that he actually visits Korea every month to attend festivals. He also believes that this movie has the potential to change his life by bringing in some new job in Korea, about writing about films. Furthermore, he doesn't want to call himself a film expert, since he mostly knows about Korean films and also wants to work as an extra in Korean movies, even without a line, and even make his own film in Korea.
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However, the most interesting part of the film is following him through his routine during his repeated festival runs. The part where people recognize and talk to him is just one aspect, as the filmmakers follow him as he sleeps on the floor, keeps his stuff in lockers wherever he can, moves around in flip flops, tries to find one-plus-one offers in convenience stores, all the while constantly running to catch the next screening. Essentially, the whole thing is revealed as an intense passion, or obsession one would say, with one of the people talking to him essentially telling him that he lives like a hobo in order to pursue it, with him having nothing to answer back. His smile, however, shows that he is happy doing what he wants, even under these circumstances, and in the end, he definitely does not emerge as someone any viewer of the documentary would feel sorry for.
Sebastien Simon's editing results in a rather fast pace, mirroring Kono's festival life, in an obvious effort to fit as much about him as possible in the 16 minutes of the documentary, in an approach that works well in terms of entertainment. The fact, however, remains that there is definitely more to reveal about Kono, and a trip to Japan to present his life there would definitely add to the documentary. The cinematography by the two filmmakers and Iain Bonner follows the general rules of this type of documentary, with the camera either zooming on the “protagonist” or following him close behind as he moves and runs around. A number of long shots, though, showing him as he moves towards or from festival venues are quite impressive to watch, adding a very appealing arthouse aspect to the movie.
“Tetsu Kono's Crazy Routine” is an intriguing documentary about a rather enigmatic man, that definitely deserves to become a feature in order to fully reveal the “secret” aspects of this very interesting personality.
