Tokyo Tribe

You'll either find this mash up of gang violence, martial arts action and hip-hop musical (it is told almost entirely in rap verse), based on a popular Manga series ingenious or totally bonkers, but director Sion Sono delivers a movie that goes beyond the midnight-movie oddness of the plot, and has a knack of making the dumbest of ideas work. In a futuristic Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. When one of the gang leaders breaks the fragile peace, it triggers a brutal street war for supremacy. Featuring a cannibalistic yakuza boss and his son who has a room full of human furniture, a (computer-generated) tank rolling down the streets of Tokyo and bombing buildings, a lot of humour, and even a homage to Bruce Lee (not Kill Bill) in Game of Death, there's a lot to like in this movie even if the novelty of it all does start to wear a little thin after a while.

Well, what can I say? That was something a bit different! If I had known in advance that what I was about to watch was a Japanese hip-hop musical about warring gangs in an alternate Tokyo, I suspect at least a few alarm bells might have gone off. The idea is so wilfully absurd that the movie could easily fall into car crash territory. But you are probably thinking that there is a 'however' coming up here and you would indeed be correct, as in the event Tokyo Tribe proved to be a properly exhilarating movie experience. The originality on display was pretty mind-boggling not just in terms of basic idea but also in execution. There is a story but I realised pretty early on that paying full attention to it was not really a primary requirement. Needless to say, I can't actually be bothered summarising the plot synopsis. What this one is resolutely all about is style over substance. For some viewers that is a cinematic crime but I personally think that we get a little too much 'substance' and not anywhere near enough genuine style in our modern movies. Tokyo Tribe is an example of a film that is great, great style and is pure cinema from start to finish.

Seemingly it was based on a manga comic, which isn't exactly surprising given the sheer insanity that unfolds on the screen. It has an extremely colourful aesthetic with great sets and costuming. The look is constantly interesting and surprising, a fantastic spectacle overall. But this crazy film also has most of its dialogue rapped as well. I hadn't even been aware of Japanese hip-hop before this so it was an education I can tell you. The style of filming with lots of long takes was somewhat similar to the style that many rap music videos adopted, so this is another disparate element mixed into the overall concoction. So what do we have here? Well, we have martial arts fighting (although not so much so that it gets overbearing), some good old fashioned sexploitation elements, a beat-boxing maid, a Mr Big gangster with an ever-present dildo, human furniture, a tank driving Samurai, a super-strong black henchman, (very) cute Japanese women of various shapes and sizes, some men with misguided hair-cuts, a wheel of death, a depressed youth in a hoodie who pitches up every so often like a Greek Chorus, comic-book violence and bling weaponry. There is even more going on than this as well but that's the best I can do for now. On the whole, this is a highly entertaining action-comedy-musical with a real energy and originality. This really does define the term one of a kind!

Insane rap musical about warring gangs in Tokyo. This grows to be a lot of fun, but I had to get over a lot of annoyances before I could get into it. First and foremost, I had to get into the music itself. It's certainly not great hip-hop, and, at first, I found it kind of lame. As the film progressed, I don't know if the music got better or I just accepted it as it was, but I started to kind of like it. Second, the plot is a huge mess. I certainly wouldn't recommend you go it hoping for a clear plot, because you're not going to get one. It's just kind of your standard yakuza turf war stuff, with a good gang and a bad gang and a bunch of other, lesser gangs. Then there's something with a runaway princess or something that never quite gels into a coherent story. What you will find is a ton of cool bits scattered throughout, augmented by weird and wild costume and production design. The action is also very good. Sono continues to be a flawed director, but he's clearly one of the most interesting people working today.

'TOKYO TRIBE': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A martial arts/action/comedy/musical flick, spoken almost entirely in rap verse! The film has been described (by it's marketing campaign) as "The world's first battle rap musical", and it's based on the popular Manga series, 'Tokyo Tribe2', by Santa Inoue. It was written and directed by Sion Sono (who's probably most well known for helming 2013's 'WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL?') and it stars Ryohei Suzuki, Young Dais, Riki Takeuchi, Shota Sometani, Ryuta Sato and Akihiro Kitamura. The movie tells the story of a futuristic Japan, divided into territorial gangs; until one gang leader breaks the truce. It's one of the craziest, and most bizarrely original films, I've seen all year!

Sometime, in the not too distant future, Japan is divided into separate street gangs; each representing a different faction, collectively known as the 'Tokyo Tribes'. The leader of one tribe, Mera (Suzuki), decides to break the peace, and join forces with another ruthless gang leader, Buppa (Takeuchi). Together they wage war on another tribe, and cause an 'all out war'. Blood fills the streets; as everyone turns to brutal violence, and continuous rapping.

The movie is really weird, and definitely not for everyone, but I like 'weird'; and I found myself really enjoying it. The film took a little while for me to get into, at first it's pretty jarring; but once I was 'hooked', I was completely involved and thoroughly entertained! The action is brutally violent, and many scenes are pretty twisted and sadistic; but it's also filled with catchy hip- hop music, and beautifully choreographed fight scenes. The performances are great, and the visuals are always interesting to look at. The film is sure to become a beloved cult classic, by many genre fans, while many others will hate it. You know you're witnessing 'great art', when people are completely divided!

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Actually watching this I can't imagine anyone being serious ... I was surprised at how much "Rap" was in it (even though some of the actors actually weren't that good with their MC skills) - you can and should call this a musical. Obviously, if rap music isn't your thing, you should not even think about watching this.

Anyone else open to a mad world, go ahead and have fun. And you can have fun. There are so many crazy and wicked ideas in this, you'll have quite a lot to talk about with friends or generally on the internet. There were a couple of moments that seemed unnecessary (misogynistic), but other than that, this is really just a fun little movie, that almost made me stand up at the end singing along - Tokyo Tribe