Tony Takitani
- The Disc:5.0
Based on the Haruki Murakami short story of the same name, Jun Ichikawa's brilliant adaptation...
Based on the Haruki Murakami short story of the same name, Jun Ichikawa's brilliant adaptation captures the spirit of Murakami's text whilst being a distinct cinematic entity unto itself. By composing the film almost entirely in a series of poetic tracking shots to a haunting Ryuichi Sakamoto score, Ichikawa creates an air of minimalist solitude, which is perfect for the story.
After years of being socially ostracised for his western name, Tony Takitani (Issey Ogata) accepts a life of loneliness as a financially stable draughtsman, with the majority of his time spent between work and the most mundane of pleasures. Enter Eiko (Rie Miyazawa), a meek fashion-addict, and the pair soon gets married. But after a tragic car accident robs Tony of his wife, he is left with mountains of designer clothes and heartbreaking isolation, which leads him to look for a maid who can wear the clothes and help bury the pain of his wife's death.
As much an oddball riff on Vertigo as it is a quick journey through the history of post-war Japan, Tony Takitani is a supreme artistic achievement for veteran director Ichikawa (Tugumi, Bu Su). Although Murakami adaptations are rare, with any luck Ichikawa may tackle one of the author's novels in the near future - he's more than equipped to handle the job.
