Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Kenichi Matsuyama, Fumino Kimura, Tokio Emoto, Masahiro Higashide
Intro:
An impressive film about strength and weakness – both physical and mental.
“I don’t want to do tough practice. I’d like you to teach me shadowboxing or some cool moves … I’m not aiming to be a boxer, I just want to be perceived as one.”
These are the words of Tsuyoshi Narasaki (Tokio Emoto), who’s turned up at a boxing gym, hoping to become a faux boxer to impress a girl at the games arcade where they both work, surrounded by plush toys. This character weaves a thread of humour into this excellent drama, but Tsuyoshi isn’t a token funny character, he’s part of a fortified story.
Blue is the colour of the challenger’s corner in the Japanese boxing ring. Red is the corner for champions. It’s telling that Blue has been chosen as the title.
This film from writer/director Keisuke Yoshida (Intolerance, also playing at this year’s Japanese Film Festival) is about winning and losing, strength and weakness – and relationships.
There’s absolutely no need to have any interest in boxing to enjoy Blue. The characters are so well crafted and developed that by the time they get in the ring, even the uninitiated will be glued to the choreographed action … Who will win? What will happen?
At the centre is the hinted love triangle of Kazuki (Masahiro Higashide) in one corner, his hairdresser girlfriend Chika (Fumino Kimura) in another, and Nobuto Urita (a.k.a. Uri – Kenichi Matsuyama) completing the geometry. Their interrelationship is complex and there is history between them. Uri, a coach, seems forever stuck in the blue corner, while Kazuki is in the red.
Yet Kazuki suffers from punch drunk syndrome, He’s getting headaches and losing his memory – a young man suffering from a form of dementia. It’s a punishing sport and he’s paid a high price. He loves boxing, but it’s not loving him back.
Ultimately, the film is about relationships more than boxing. And other than the occasional soundtrack chunk that appears to have come from some big hair ‘80s rock band, there’s little to criticise about Blue.
An impressive film about strength and weakness – both physical and mental.
