You would think that by moving away from the industrial body horror of the Tetsuo films to Boxing, Shinya Tsukamoto would produce a less hostile film. With the film reissued by third window films, I learned that you should never assume anything with the Body Horror sweetheart. Tokyo Fist is just as much a horror film as any of the director’s work. Tsukamoto yet again stars behind and in front of the camera as Tsuda, a model salaryman and husband to Hizuru (Kaori Fujii) – a happy family until Kojima (played by Tsukamoto’s brother, Kôji) shows up on their doorstep. A pro boxer with a demonic fury, Kojima kicks up a storm in Tsuda and Hizuru’s lives as the two go further down the rabbit hole, losing themselves to a series of bloody confrontations.
Tsukamoto is consistent with the rest of his work, which is to say Tsuda and Hizuru lose their personalities and regress to purer states of being. Even if you could accuse Tokyo Fist of being emotionally shallow, through the visual flair, it’s easy to see the skill of his direction. The violence of the boxing has an intense explosive quality when a nasty punch connects Tsukamoto has faces exploding with gore and the same disgusting stop motion that punctuated Tetsuo. These instances all call back to a scene when Tsuda sees a maggot-ravaged corpse of a cat in a back alley; the sound effects of flesh eaten and the meat pulled from the bone, no gory detail spared. Add in some industrial techno, and you have some distressing images of blood and bone brutality.
The first instance of pure brutality is unforgettable. After the blow, punctuated with that nasty explosion of blood and stop motion, Kojima carries himself like a mad dog, his face twisted out of shape like a demented monster – all bathed in a deep blue. It doesn’t sound much written down, but this is a fleeting image more intimidating than anything in mainstream cinema may have ever seen. I’d say the only other director who understands the power and terror of simple visuals is David Lynch, albeit from opposite extremes of a wide spectrum.
Extreme is the word that describes this film best: extremely unforgettable imagery, extreme relationships with Tokyo and an extreme resolution. People are hurt, blood splattered, and one of the final images sees someone so defiled they no longer resemble humans. There’s no escape from this violent metamorphosis. Tokyo Fist drills a home deep into your memory. Tsukamoto’s third film is the most extreme boxing film ever made and makes the likes of Raging Bull feel awfully tame. We are with pure cinema for the hearts and minds who seek the more provocative, dangerous voices in film.
Tokyo Fist is out now on Third Window Films Blu-Ray
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