Review of Wild Life

Introduction

I`ve often waxed lyrical about the films that are coming out of Far Eastern cinema these days. Films that defy genre and expectations to a degree that their freshness and originality inspires Hollywood to flood the market with inferior remakes. Well, I am about to gush once again, as Artsmagic bring Wild Life to our screens, an unconventional gangster movie to say the least that combines film noir, Yakuza movies, a touch of romance and a healthy dose of comedy to create something unique.

Hiroki Sakai is an ex-boxer who has found something of a quiet and obscure existence, tending to the various Pachinko machines that his boss Kenzo runs. He lives his life strictly by routine and tries not to get involved. That`s until he rescues Kenzo from the attention of some Yakuza thugs. When he is accosted himself by the Yakuza, they demand a package that they think he has, a package he supposedly received when he met an old friend. He has no such package of course, but the Yakuza pressure him by kidnapping Kenzo. Now Hiroki has to get to the bottom of the mystery, find the package and rescue his boss. That isn`t easy when his Kenzo`s daughter Rie insists on tagging along.

Video

The image is presented in the original aspect ratio, which despite what the packaging says, I guestimate to be around 2:1. A Region 1 disc, it has a typical NTSC transfer, although the image is quite soft and lacks definition at times. There is also significant artefacting around fine detail, a flicker that I found quite distracting. It`s a shame really as the cinematography and direction is worthy of mention, and deserve better from the transfer.

Audio

There is a choice between DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 Japanese. The surround is adequate, with some ambience and a general immersion that helps the film. It isn`t accomplished with any particular flourish, but suits the film well. The dialogue is clear, but the music is ill suited to the point of comical. As with all the Artsmagic releases I have encountered, there are two English subtitle tracks, differing only in the size of font used, and useful depending on the size of your display.

Features

Pachinko based animated menus offer the choice of text Bio/filmographies for the cast and the director.

There is an 18-minute interview with director Shinji Aoyama where he discusses the films that influenced him in his career, the genre of Wild Life, the style, the budget and the world of the Yakuza.

Finally there is an audio commentary supplied by Jasper Sharp. It`s a detailed and informative commentary. He doesn`t go into details about the plot, rather he talks around the film, the cast and crew, and he supplies invaluable information about the cultural background of the film, including the Pachinko craze. It did feel like something of a lecture to me, and I had the suspicion that there would be a test afterward.

Conclusion

Wild Life turned out to be a wonderful piece of entertainment, stylistically a blending of Pulp Fiction and Memento. If you are a fan of fractured narrative that peels away the layers of a story to get to the heart of a mystery, then you`ll be delighted with Wild Life, which starts with the victim of an assault watching the attack that maimed him on a grainy video, and unfolding from there. We are introduced to the characters as the film jumps backward and forward through the continuity, and we are given clues to the mystery. Shinji Aoyama directs masterfully with a deft hand. The naturalness of some of the scenes and the freewheeling flair belie the intricate editing and the skill with which the scenes are constructed. Watching the enigma revealed is a fascinating and enjoyable experience.

However, Wild Life does this with a good dose of comedy, the Yakuza are hardly the sharpest tools, and despite the threats they deliver to Hiroki, they certainly don`t exude any significant menace, with the sidekick of main boss Ijima making a very good comedy foil. Kenzo`s daughter Rie has a suitor pursuing her, but her dismissal of him is quirky, especially as she only has eyes for Hiroki. When her would be boyfriend confronts the ex-boxer it is a mismatched confrontation that develops unexpectedly. This is one of those films where the comedy comes from the reality of the situation and the characters, it`s never forced and often understated, but still laugh out loud funny in places.

The characters are the strongest element in the film, and they are wonderfully observed. The mystery and the thriller aspects of the film are of interest, but they serve to highlight the growth of Hiroki, from an introverted man whose routine has become his life, into someone who engages with the world again. I found myself really rooting for the character, especially when it seemed that he would allow the Yakuza to walk all over him. The fact that the characters are such good value in this film gives the film longevity beyond what I would normally attribute to stories like this, where the device of a fractured narrative concealing a mystery can only have one first time, one fulfilling `A-ha` moment. Wild Life will give good value beyond the first viewing though. The transfer isn`t astounding, but the film most certainly is, one to watch out for.