Slum-Polis (2015) Intriguing Japanese Apocalypse Drama from Raindance (Review)

In the wake of the Tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, there has been a movement of directors – both high and low profile – who have used that catastrophe to open up a cinematic discourse; one of the more successful examples is Sono’s Land of Hope. Sono formed one end of that conversation at the other is Ken Ninomiya’s Slum-Polis, a low-budget indie shown as part Raindance 2015’s ‘Way out East’ Strand. As

Described in an opening bout of exposition, the Japan of Ninomiya’s picture has been hit by a similar earthquake instigating an economic crisis alleviated by carving up the country analogously to Carpenter’s Escape from New York – the result being Slum-Polis. The quarantined Slum is a state fuelled by anarchy, drugs, prostitution and gang warfare. Calling that home are Asu (Hidenobu Abera) and Joe (Horyu Nishimura), both around university age but in these slums fate has turned them into hitmen, killers responsible for a hit on a drug kingpin with overwhelming ramifications. The drug market is blown wide open and for the briefest of times, Asu and Joe enjoy a respite that brings a little glamour to their corner of the world in Anna (Ryoko Ono). This allows them the rare chance to dream; Asu wants his music to be played by DJ Taku on the local pirate radio station and Anna the escape from prostitution that comes in painting. In a world that seems content rushing to oblivion the trio’s existence is one of bliss until the horrible, violent realities of Slum-Polis come-a-knocking.

Despite being tied to the most quintessentially Japanese of issues, Slum-Polis doesn’t feel at all Japanese. Using industrial wastelands as a stand-in for the isolated titular town, adoptive location scouting that recalls characteristics of John Carpenter and George Miller’s filmography and their subsequent and shameless Italian rip-offs, the only Japanese trait is the language spoken by the cast.

The personality of Slum-Polis is an odd one and nothing articulates this better than its use of music. As aforementioned, Joe, Asu and Anna use art as an escape, a point that is expressed through dream-pop scored montages edited like music videos. These instances stop the movie dead in its tracks, perhaps, but Ninomiya is explicit in communicating the resonance of that Earthquake and Tsunami with terms more culturally broad than musical styles central only to Japan. Be that as it may, stopping the movie become exacerbating after the 4th or 5th instance.

The machine gun editing employed in those musical montages reoccurs in certain flurries of violence, the first hour is punctuated by erratic out of blue violence enacted by inexperienced kid’s victim to their circumstances. The second hour is much more controlled with the repercussions of Joe and Asu’s actions unleashing the unforgiving brutality of Slum-Polis’ powerhouse Yakuza family. That contrast between worlds sees the young director at his best; recognition also deserves to be bestowed on DOP Shota Yamamoto. Budgets can be especially cruel on films with ambition; comparable works are only credible when significant work has been put into the world-building. With such bold ideas at play, the budget couldn’t possibly cover what Ninomiya wanted to achieve, therefore Yamamoto’s work behind the camera becomes indispensable, as that and that alone can paper over the cracks caused by financial constraints and lack of resources.

Raindance is one of the bright stars of the British festival circuit as it shines a light on the talent climbing their way up the ladder. By that definition, Slum-Polis is very much a Raindance film. The acting leaves a great deal to be desired and the storytelling nous takes regular nosedives and detours into uncharacteristically garish melodrama. However, the raw talent and ambition shown in Slum-Polis are laudable, director Ninomiya shows an eye for repackaging issues under genre sensibilities, a keen style founded in the boldly alternative sensibilities of Osakan Art. Japanese cinema rarely gets an outing outside of Tokyo, so that alone is a source of intrigue for the young directors future.

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