Hikikomori: Tokyo Plastic (2004)

Director:

Adario Strange

Writer:

Adario Strange (writer)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

A young female Japanese hacker returns to Tokyo for a short visit and is quickly caught up in a web of crime and violence by the city's most notorious hikikomori psychopath.

Plot Keywords:

Hikikomori | Hacker | Tokyo Japan

Cast

Rex Hayashi	...	Michio
Tsutomu Ishizuka	...	Mr. Ishi
Kayoko Kawahara	...	Naomi
Kayo Yoshida	...	Izumi

Runtime:

Japan:75 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

BAHX Films

Arrrgh! My eyes!

I actually saw "Tokyo Plastic" film during one of its showings in Shibuya, Tokyo, and good lordy, it's an amateurish train wreck of a film -- that is, if you can really call something that looks like it was shot on VHS a "film." It is also extremely hilarious, though for all the wrong reasons.

The plot goes something like this: Elite Japanese-American hacker Naomi returns to Tokyo for laser eye surgery. During the trip, she meets her goofy old uncle, who is played by some old guy who actually worked on Kurosawa films (and who has the only intentionally funny line in the movie). Naomi runs into Izumi, a dippy Shibuya girl, who shows her around the city (and creates an enormously dopey plot twist near the end that was ludicrous enough to make the audience howl in laughter). Naomi continues her sneaky computer hacking in Tokyo, which mostly consists of hanging around near ATM machines and acting suspicious.

However, an evil hacker Hikikomori (Japanese for freaky shut-in hermitish person) tracks her every move and cackles behind the screen of his equally evil laptop, planning revenge of some sort (that most likely doesn't involve leaving the house). Will he destroy sweet Naomi and her sexy street-smart friend? Will Naomi track him down before she's caught by the Japanese police? And more importantly, will the director go to the local electronics store and actually buy a tripod? Again, I can't stress how bad this movie is. The acting is laughable, the cinematography lacking, the lighting nonexistent, and the plot makes a final kamikaze run on the audience about sixty minutes in. I've seen some bad indie films in my time, but this honestly looks like something that was shot by a bunch of college kids during a vacation to Japan, and the fact that it got distributed at all is enough to make my head spin. I haven't regretted spending money on a movie this much since I bought "Shaolin Dolemite" at Wal-Mart.

Director Adario Strange is a talented guy, but I'd like him to get some assistance from an experienced film-making team if he attempts another film. Until then, we can avoid this one at all costs.