AKUMU TANTEI
(NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE)
(Review)
Kagenuma (Ryuhei Matsuda; Takashi Miike’s Izo) is a suicidal man gifted (or cursed) with the power to enter people’s dreams. Keiko Kirishima (J-pop singer Hitomi) has just been transferred—at her request—from a significant position at the National Police Agency to regular law enforcement. These two individuals cross paths as Keiko’s first case involves apparent suicides carried out while the deceased was in the grip of a nightmare. The two then reluctantly join forces as it quickly becomes clear that the police have bitten off more than they can chew in their investigation.
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto (best known for the bizarre body horror extravaganza, Tetsuo, Tsukamoto again wears a number of hats here, as he often does on his films; he co-wrote the screenplay, edited, and shared credit for cinematography; he also stars in it!), Akumu Tantei is an interesting thriller that revisits A Nightmare On Elm Street territory, as we are introduced to “0,” who, like Freddy Krueger, is a malicious entity that kills people in their sleep. This time out though, “0” targets victims who want to die in the first place (and sometimes, that suicidal tendency is entirely subconscious).
Unlike other films that depict a dream reality though, in Akumu Tantei, the dreamscape is pretty much indistinguishable from the real world (no bizarre costumes or production design here). Tsukamoto does however, portray an interesting layering of action in the dream realm, as if in piercing the veil of sleep, Kagenuma enters a potentially endless recursion of worlds; Tsukamoto suggests an infinity of cerebral Russian nestling dolls waiting inside all of our sleeping minds.
And while the plot itself is serviceable enough, and the mystery regarding “0”’s nature and identity neither entirely opaque and unsolvable, nor entirely transparent and predictable, the performances are another matter entirely.
It’s unfortunate that Matsuda does not have the acting chops to carry the weight of Kagenuma. What should be a deep and intrinsic self-loathing comes off as petty and self-involved juvenile angst. There isn’t any depth nor subtle nuance to Matsuda‘s performance, which is sad since the character of Kagenuma presents an interesting paradox in the narrative: he is one of the main protagonists and quite possibly the only one who can actually stop “0,” and yet he displays the prime characteristic of “0”’s victims—he wants to die.
And while Hitomi‘s performance is not as troublesome as Matsuda‘s, it is still not as powerful and convincing as it should be. Keiko is self-described as “socially inept,” and while Hitomi does succeed in portraying the rookie detective as if at one remove from the people around her, that distance sometimes translates into a total disconnection between the character and the audience. One never really feels the pain and isolation of Keiko.
And in one particular scene, her performance seemed so off-pitch, what I can only assume was meant to be existential revulsion played out like a self-induced orgasm.
Thus, with a pair of central performances that are as compromised as these are, the chemistry that one would expect between the two characters just doesn’t manifest. When these two fractured individuals find each other and acknowledge the bond they share, there should be some overriding emotion, a feeling that they have each found the other that can share the burden of their pain, and perhaps help heal each other’s wounds.
Instead, there is a resounding emptiness, a vacuum of emotion as Keiko professes not just her own desire to live, but her desire that Kagenuma go on living too.
Despite this significant failing on its part though, Akumu Tantei is still watchable, an interesting story of life, and death, and dreams.
Clearly not as outlandish as Tetsuo, not as arthouse-leaning as Bullet Ballet, Akumu Tantei is quite possibly Tsukamoto’s most mainstream film to date, and the one with significant franchise potential.*
If you do decide to check it out though, just don’t be surprised if you don’t feel any emotion other than a little horror and a little revulsion.
Which may not necessarily be a bad thing; as Stephen King once said, “A little revulsion is good for the soul.”
* Tsukamoto is currently in pre-production on a sequel.
Parting shot: With his cloak and disheveled hair, Kagenuma looks curiously like Neil Gaiman’s Dream, from Sandman.
(Akumu Tantei OS courtesy of cho-yaba.com; Nightmare Detective OS courtesy of moviexclusive.com; film image courtesy of twitchfilm.net.)
(NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE)
(Review)
Kagenuma (Ryuhei Matsuda; Takashi Miike’s Izo) is a suicidal man gifted (or cursed) with the power to enter people’s dreams. Keiko Kirishima (J-pop singer Hitomi) has just been transferred—at her request—from a significant position at the National Police Agency to regular law enforcement. These two individuals cross paths as Keiko’s first case involves apparent suicides carried out while the deceased was in the grip of a nightmare. The two then reluctantly join forces as it quickly becomes clear that the police have bitten off more than they can chew in their investigation.
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto (best known for the bizarre body horror extravaganza, Tetsuo, Tsukamoto again wears a number of hats here, as he often does on his films; he co-wrote the screenplay, edited, and shared credit for cinematography; he also stars in it!), Akumu Tantei is an interesting thriller that revisits A Nightmare On Elm Street territory, as we are introduced to “0,” who, like Freddy Krueger, is a malicious entity that kills people in their sleep. This time out though, “0” targets victims who want to die in the first place (and sometimes, that suicidal tendency is entirely subconscious).
Unlike other films that depict a dream reality though, in Akumu Tantei, the dreamscape is pretty much indistinguishable from the real world (no bizarre costumes or production design here). Tsukamoto does however, portray an interesting layering of action in the dream realm, as if in piercing the veil of sleep, Kagenuma enters a potentially endless recursion of worlds; Tsukamoto suggests an infinity of cerebral Russian nestling dolls waiting inside all of our sleeping minds.
And while the plot itself is serviceable enough, and the mystery regarding “0”’s nature and identity neither entirely opaque and unsolvable, nor entirely transparent and predictable, the performances are another matter entirely.
It’s unfortunate that Matsuda does not have the acting chops to carry the weight of Kagenuma. What should be a deep and intrinsic self-loathing comes off as petty and self-involved juvenile angst. There isn’t any depth nor subtle nuance to Matsuda‘s performance, which is sad since the character of Kagenuma presents an interesting paradox in the narrative: he is one of the main protagonists and quite possibly the only one who can actually stop “0,” and yet he displays the prime characteristic of “0”’s victims—he wants to die.
And while Hitomi‘s performance is not as troublesome as Matsuda‘s, it is still not as powerful and convincing as it should be. Keiko is self-described as “socially inept,” and while Hitomi does succeed in portraying the rookie detective as if at one remove from the people around her, that distance sometimes translates into a total disconnection between the character and the audience. One never really feels the pain and isolation of Keiko.
And in one particular scene, her performance seemed so off-pitch, what I can only assume was meant to be existential revulsion played out like a self-induced orgasm.
Thus, with a pair of central performances that are as compromised as these are, the chemistry that one would expect between the two characters just doesn’t manifest. When these two fractured individuals find each other and acknowledge the bond they share, there should be some overriding emotion, a feeling that they have each found the other that can share the burden of their pain, and perhaps help heal each other’s wounds.
Instead, there is a resounding emptiness, a vacuum of emotion as Keiko professes not just her own desire to live, but her desire that Kagenuma go on living too.
Despite this significant failing on its part though, Akumu Tantei is still watchable, an interesting story of life, and death, and dreams.
Clearly not as outlandish as Tetsuo, not as arthouse-leaning as Bullet Ballet, Akumu Tantei is quite possibly Tsukamoto’s most mainstream film to date, and the one with significant franchise potential.*
If you do decide to check it out though, just don’t be surprised if you don’t feel any emotion other than a little horror and a little revulsion.
Which may not necessarily be a bad thing; as Stephen King once said, “A little revulsion is good for the soul.”
* Tsukamoto is currently in pre-production on a sequel.
Parting shot: With his cloak and disheveled hair, Kagenuma looks curiously like Neil Gaiman’s Dream, from Sandman.
(Akumu Tantei OS courtesy of cho-yaba.com; Nightmare Detective OS courtesy of moviexclusive.com; film image courtesy of twitchfilm.net.)
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