Pornostar (1998)

A young man travels to Shinjuku with a bag full of knives and an idea in his head - nobody needs Yakuza. He bumps into some low level gangsters whose boss has ordered them to kill a rival, but who are unenthusiastic about the idea - and perhaps the Yakuza life in general.

I first saw PORNOSTAR on a murky ebay bootleg back in 2004, still on a high from 9 SOULS, and it mostly left me confused. Rewatching it 17 years later on a much less murky bluray from Third Window Films it is still quite a baffling experience, but... more in a good way.

The film is kind of surreal and doesn't make total sense as a literal narrative. It's not nonsensical, but we're not necessarily supposed to read it as a series of events that actually happen so much as a set of ideas and perspectives. That's also true of 9 SOULS, now that I think about it, but its perhaps a bit less obvious that PORNOSTAR should be viewed that way.

Chihara Junia is a disconcerting presence as the lead character who may be disturbed or delusional, or perhaps just more of a symbol or an idea incarnate. It's surprising to learn that he is best known in Japan as a comedian since his demeanour is anything but genial, but I suppose it's less surprising if you consider Takeshi Kitano's dual careers.

The film's depiction of Yakuza as rather cowardly and lacking confidence is a refreshing change from their usual portrayal (at least outside Kinji Fukasaku films) and it does make a case that nobody needs them, and that they do not hold the power they try to project.

As you'd expect from Toshiaki Toyoda there are some beautifully filmed sequences and an effective use of music, especially some grungy guitar pieces by the band Dip. It doesn't quite achieve the coolness of Blue Spring but it's not bad debut for a low budget debut feature.

I spent many years mystified as to why the film is called PORNOSTAR, since there is no such character in the film, but Ben Challoner mentions that it is because the violence and depravity in the world the characters inhabit is kind of pornographic, which... sort of makes sense?