Review of Tokyo Godfathers (2003) by Roberto A — 01 Apr 2008

Almost Altmanesque in its sprawling, baroque improbabilities, "Tokyo Godfathers" is a journey worth taking. I had given up on Satoshi Ken after the atrocious "Millennium Actress" and the aggressively mediocre "Paprika", but this remarkable work redeems him.

Taking a cue from Kurosawa's best works, Kon keeps this yarn purely street level, as we follow three homeless people on their quest to find the mother of an abandoned baby. From each of their vantages, we witness a harrowing and very sympathetic slice of homeless life, from enduring a sermon for soup to a very brutal scene of young punks beating up one of the main characters.

(from which I read is an all too common hazard of being homeless). Yet through its grim prism, the film remains doggedly optimistic that a Christmas Miracle will transfigure all the ugliness in this world.

And this is where "Godfathers" falters, along with a ridiculous chase scene where a cop actually allows two homeless people to jump into his squad car. The film, despite its unrelenting grittiness, felt naive in its hopefulness, and one too many coincidences began to weigh the film down.

Still, it's a helluva a ride, and the film's black humor keeps things from getting too sentimental. Some great tirades also deflate all the characters' self-pity, which is the real antagonist of this film.

I'm baffled why this film sank into relative obscurity in North America while "Paprika" got all the acclaim. I guess it goes to show you how out of step I am with popular opinion. Oh, woe is me! Now I'm starting to sound like Gin.