Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2011 55-year old indie/experimental director Masashi Yamamoto has been cranking out his own brand of off-beat, challenging and occasionally misguided cinema for 25 years now. The filmmaker often concentrates on Japan’s underground culture, edgy relationships, drugs, thugs, and, of course, gaijin—such as in Junk Food (1999), and the current […]
55-year old indie/experimental director Masashi Yamamoto has been cranking out his own brand of off-beat, challenging and occasionally misguided cinema for 25 years now. The filmmaker often concentrates on Japan’s underground culture, edgy relationships, drugs, thugs, and, of course, gaijin—such as in Junk Food (1999), and the current offering Three Points. The first half intercuts episodes from different pairs’ lives in Kyoto, a boyfriend and girlfriend, two friends, etc., with documentary footage shot in various locales in Okinawa. The Kyoto stories generally revolve around street-level rappers and associated punks, while the Okinawan section sketches people’s everyday lives. The second half of the film goes into an extended and twisted love story between layabout Iga (Jun Murakami) and hard-working but emotionally fragile Saki (Sora Aoi). While the tale seems slightly less than plausible, the overall atmosphere draws the viewer into the characters’ personas. Overall, the film does offer something, but it’s hard to say exactly what. I think Yamamoto would count that as a win. (118 min)
Metropolis
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