Tsukiyo no kamagassen - The Kamagasaki Cauldron War Directed by Leo Sato
Tsukiyo no kamagassen - The Kamagasaki Cauldron War
Directed by Leo Sato
Starrings: Naori Ota, Yohta Kawase, Tumugi Monko, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Kazu, Maki Nishiyama, Marie Decalco, Susumu Ogata, Masao Adachi, Yota Kawase, Tumugi Monko, Naori Ota, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Shôji Ômiya
Country: Japan
Year 2018
Author of review: Roberto Matteucci
Click Here for Italian Version
“Who wants a safe town to live.”
Japan is a big economic and financial power. GDP is the fourth in the world, GDP per capita is 42,900 US dollars. Unemployment has a physiological percentage of 2.90%. (1)
Order, productivity, organization, modernization, devotion are the peculiarities of Japan.
Nevertheless, even in a structured society there are many outcasts. Misfits, scum occupy Japanese slums in big cities.
Osaka has one of the most famous and popular, the Kamagasaki slum. Unemployed, precarious workers, prostitutes, disadvantaged, fight to survive, living day-to-day. Despite the difficulties, Kamagasaki has dignity and pride. The official administration would like to hide the existence of these dirty neighbourhoods, because there are often battlefields between residents and police.
Years ago, The Guardian, in a reportage, described Kamagasaki:
“However, you won't find Kamagasaki on any official maps. Osaka's bureaucrats would rather the world knew as little as possible about the maze of dingy streets, tarpaulin-covered parks and high-rise dosshouses that symbolise growing social inequality in the world's second-biggest economy.” (2)
Kamagasaki becomes the meeting venue for humankind without lucky:
“When jobs are plentiful, life in Kamagasaki continues largely unnoticed by the rest of Japan. But these are hard times for the thousands of casual labourers who descend on the local employment-welfare centre every morning at dawn, not knowing if they will spend the day earning hard cash on construction sites, or queuing for handouts at the local soup kitchen.” (2)
Among the slum residents there are mutual support, assistance, camaraderie:
“The less fortunate will sleep on the streets, sustained by a combination of free meals, cheap alcohol and a camaraderie that comes of shared adversity.” (2)
It is a human and civil union, capable even of generating political consciousness. This attitude has provoked a rebellion in the slum. The consequence has been years of clashes with both the Japanese mafia and the police:
“In June, the plight of Kamagasaki's workers came under renewed scrutiny when the neighbourhood erupted into violence amid accusations of police brutality against a local resident. It was the first major disturbance since anger at collusion between local police and the yakuza - Japan's mafia - prompted five-days of rioting in October 1992.
There had been previous clashes between police and residents. The first that drew nationwide attention was in 1961. Kamagasaki has a history of lawlessness. In 1966, the official solution to ridding the region of its crime-ridden image was to rename it Airin-chiku.” (2)
Solidarity, friendship, political awareness, marginalization, riots, Japanese mafia, economic exploiters are the distinctive elements of the film Tsukiyo no kamagassen - The Kamagasaki Cauldron War by director Leo Sato, presented at the 55th Pesaro Film Festival.
Kamagasaki is the kingdom of the Katamari clan. The slum is important, because, its area could be a rich real estate speculation. Building speculators, close to the municipal council, agree with the mafia chief to forcefully clear out tents, hostels, decrepit houses. The resistance of the locals is around the park of the Triangle. Its symbol is a kama, a giant cauldron. The war breaks out between thieves, pickpockets, prostitutes, blind masseurs. The suburb is filled of taverns, disgusting bars besieged by drunks. These anonymous characters will be able to provoke a definitive confrontation.
Leo Sato knows Kamagasaki because, some years ago, he filmed the documentary Nagai seishun yoi yume uta. Besides, for The Kamagasaki Cauldron War, he lived there with the screenwriters.
It was a voluntary choice, as told by the author in an interview:
“As for Kamagasaki Cauldron War, we rented a house with our team to write the screenplay, so as we got to know the people, we could progress in writing. Besides, we asked locals to play in the film.” (3)
The social aspect is prevalent, there is the will to describe a difficult life condition, of marginalized people and especially lonely:
“They live in the street, or in small doya hotels, cheap hotels to stay overnight. They are therefore led to eat outside or do the laundry outside. They spend a lot of time there. You get the feeling that life overflows on the street, and there are many public baths, since they do not have bath tubes in their own room. This is not a blood family, but there is another very strong relationship that has nothing to do with blood ties.” (3)
The film is a choral story, numerous characters prevail. They are all exaggerated, over-the-top.
Henmi Naozo is a vagabond entertainer. His job is to dress up like a woman for mafia parties.
Genjiro is the silent observer. He characterizes the events with his silence.
Daido and Kazu are a run-down and bizarre couple of thieves.
Mei is a young and beautiful prostitute.
Kantaro is an orphan boy. He wanders sick and tired in the streets and represents the new generations born in Kamagasaki.
Tamao is the son of the boss of the Katamari clan. He should replace him, but he has some qualms.
Gonsuke is the communist activist. He has a dream: the outbreak of the revolution from Kamagasaki.
They are all hyperbolic, immoderate personalities. Defeated from birth, they do not live, they survive. For the director, they are all big-hearted, in the story the evils are others.
Creating a complete film is Leo Sato's quality. He could have conceived a brutal, realistic narrative, but his intelligence is in the moral decision not to show the depressing perspective but the ironic and sarcastic one:
“I think you have to reach that level, you don’t just have to report anger, or if only so, a film can’t be interesting. I’m reminding me of Chaplin or Yoji Yamada, of course there’s anger against society, but if you only show it in a raw way, nobody would be interested. I want to say that without laughing there is no revolution. You still have to make the movie entertaining. The social movement is very serious, ensuring justice is necessary but if we try to do it, we must be vigilant and not imitate the system of the society against which we are fighting. There may be conflicts within a group, we, who are fighting against society, and we may tend to imitate the structure of society. There may be a hierarchy of power within a group, a relationship of domination, but this is what must be avoided at all costs. And as I said, for a film, you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously.” (3)
“I want to say that without laughing there is no revolution” it is the intelligent language used to elevate the narration. Language and structure represent this principle.
Medium-shot. Tamao is from behind, he is framed from the bust down. His trousers are bottom, in the centre, there are his naked ass and his legs. In front of him, there are, on their knees, his thief friend and two other ones. They have astonished gaze pointed to Tamao's penis: “That thing's faulty for sure”. An injury sustained in a sumo championship has deformed his sexual organ.
It is an example of his style. All scenes have the same feature.
Daido, the thief, unwittingly, becomes a hero of the Kamagasaki rebellion. Gonsuke, the communist militant, is so proud of him, he reads a press release to exalt his merit. The scene is emphasized with the music of The Internationale and some cute girls at Daido's feet. Nevertheless, the reality is another.
There is a quote to Mark Twain. The prostitute Mei pretends to be dead. She must disappear, and his friends organized a mock funeral. Mei, as Tom Sawyer, observes his burial from the roof.
In the final sequence, everything becomes apparent. It is a total conflict, fought like caricatures in cartoons. The derelicts first clash among them, then they understand the enemy, and they crash into the ruthless property speculators, guilty of being greedy.
The shots are always full of people. The extra-diegetic music is cheerful, and it keeps the rhythm of the film.
The personalities are eccentric, with fake, awkward and clumsy movements and attitudes.
The ethical element does not exist. Robbers, parasites, whores are angels compared to the profiteers indifferent to the pain of people.
There is also a humorous peculiarity in the film. In the worst Japan's slums, the roads are tidy, clean, well-paved.
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