Hiroyuki Tanaka, better known under the pseudonym Sabu, has started his career as an actor, but in the 1990s became a director, which arguably proved to be a much more successful venture for him. Especially internationally, he has made quite a reputation for himself, creating a unique blend of comedy and drama with many philosophical, sometime even social comments.
Running and walking are one of the recurring motifs within his filmography, especially his early work. It is both a means to escape something, a yakuza henchman chasing a character or a postman trying his best to deliver the mail. But there are also the walkers among the protagonists in his work, attempting to find some kind of hidden meaning in chaos, it seems.
In this list, we will take a look at how Sabu employs running and walking in his features
1. Dangan Runner (1996)
Already his debut feature introduces the concept of running, with all three main characters at one point being involved in a chase. Sabu connects the stories of these three people, showing how they have been more or less running away from something their whole life. Running in the end becomes something more, as the promised escape from their sorrows does not take place.
2. Postman Blues (1997)
“Postman Blues”, the director’s sophomore effort, comes across as an extension of the themes Sabu has explored in “Dangan Runner”. Shinichi Tsutsumi (who has starred in many of the filmmaker’s early works) plays Sawaki, a postman, who becomes involved in a police investigation, as he makes himself a suspect by running to fulfill his duty. It is one of the first time Sabu poked fun at the idea of the docent servant, who follows the rules and who, by running, transcends this role and makes him all the more human.
Check also this interview
3. Unlucky Monkey (1998)
Sabu’s third feature stars Shinichi Tsutsumi as Yamazaki, a clumsy bank robber, whose heist goes horribly wrong and who becomes entangled in a chaotic web of murder as his actions cause the death of a young woman. This time running away is both a physical as well as a metaphorical act, with bad outcomes as the main character must learn he cannot escape fate and a guilty conscience.
4. Monday (2000)
While some might debate the ending is not the feature’s strongest point, “Monday” is easily the most entertaining feature SABU has directed thus far. Shinichi Tsutsumi plays Takagi, whose escape is not running, but alcohol, which enables his darker, more sinister side. His walk through the nightly streets of the Japanese capital is a reminder of the chaos we can create if we are not mindful and do not regard the warning signs within our world.
5. Blessing Bell (2002)
Even though SABU released two feature in 2002, “Blessing Bell” is perhaps the most interesting entry. Susumu Terajima plays Igarashi, a man walking through the streets of Tokyo, meeting yakuza and also a ghost (played by Seijun Suzuki). While adding spiritualism into a story is tricky and can easily seem tacky, in the case of “Blessing Bell” the act of walking becomes a meditation on our modern world, on the role of chance and luck within our lives, and also the simple pleasure we miss if we walk by too quickly.
