Tokyo Godfathers, like so many recent holiday-themed movies, is a holiday movie in name only. Satoshi Kon’s Chaplinesque film about three hobos in search of an abandoned baby’s parents could have taken place at almost any time of the year, and would have been equally moving. Unlike Kon’s previous film (the disappointing Millennium Actress) Tokyo Godfathers features real originality and genuine warmth. For those already inclined to enjoy anime, it’s not only a worthwhile rental but also nearly must-see entertainment.
As the film starts, Kon introduces us to three homeless people who live together as a surrogate family inside a shantily-constructed one-room shack. Gin, the eldest, is a gruff, cynical alcoholic. Hana, the "mother" of the group, is an effeminate homosexual who still prances like a queen while dressed in rags. The teenaged Miyuki is a runaway. Together, they discover an abandoned newborn on Christmas Eve and set out to reunite the baby with her real parents. Most Westerners watching the film will find this motivation implausible, but infant abandonment is thankfully far less common in Japan.
What begins in Charlie Chaplin-style territory quickly moves into an almost Dickensian effort, with multiple supporting characters and a Byzantine plot. It’s impossible to even hint at some of Gin, Hana, and Miyuki’s adventures without risking giving the plot away. Suffice to say, we learn a lot about all three lead characters’ backstories, as all of them find they are capable of acts of bravery and kindness that few can imagine. All the lead characters are broadly sketched, but not to the degree of becoming caricatures. Gin, Hana, and Miyuki are alive in a way that most animated characters are not; it’s easy to imagine them existing both before and after all the events in Tokyo Godfathers take place.
While some of the plot twists are admittedly implausible (this is the sort of story for which the term "deus ex machina" was invented), at its heart, Tokyo Godfathers is utterly convincing. Unlike Kon’s Millennium Actress, the sentimentality of Tokyo Godfathers never veers into treacly melodramatic sap. Kon’s compassion for his characters prevents him from drowning them in over-dramatic pathos. It’s no secret that I found Millennium Actress a deeply flawed film and doubted Kon’s ability to understand truly mature human motivation. Kon does such excellent work here that any residue from his earlier work is quickly forgotten.
As a final note, once again it’s a pleasure to see a beautiful current example of traditional cel animation. In the United States, cel animation is all but dead in the wake of Pixar’s multiple successes. Computer animation is a glorious technique capable of stunning results impossible to capture in any other medium. But so is cel animation. It’s a cliché to note that Japanese animation long ago surpassed American animation in outright creativity, but its reassuring to find that the Japanese are keeping cel technique alive for future generations.
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Other Anime Reviews Metropolis Review* Cowboy Bebop:Best Sessions Review Millennium Actress Review Cowboy Bebop Review Animatrix Review* |
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