| If there was ever a Japanese
movie tailor-made to introduce old-school
J-film and tokusatsu enthusiasts to more modern,
less fantastical or historical Japanese filmmaking,
Rainbow Kids would be it. The movie
is brimming over with long-running actors
and staff, most impressively Tanie Kitabayashi,
recognizable to many J-film enthusiasts for
her role in The Burmese Harp and her
voice work in My
Neighbor Totoro (1988), but who has
been acting in films since 1950 and is still
alive as of this writing. Eisei
Amamoto, whose resume reads like a list
of some of the most important Japanese classics
and kaiju films with diverse titles such as
24 Eyes, Yojimbo
(1961), Matango
(1963), and of course King
Kong Escapes (1967), just to name
a few, returns here in a minor part as a butler,
along with other monster movie veterans such
as Yu Fujiki from Atragon, Mothra
vs. Godzilla (1964), Chushingura
(1963), and The
War of the Gargantuas (1966), and
the enduringly popular Kumi
Mizuno, most famous for her role as the
X-Seijin temptress in Invasion
of Astro-Monster (1965), here taking
on a minor part as Tanie Kitabayashi's character's
daughter. Even the director is noteworthy
to those in the know; Kihachi Okamoto directed
Japan's
Longest Day (1967) and Zatoichi
Meets Yojimbo (1970). Perhaps most
notable of all, however, is the composer,
the legendary Masaru
Sato, who has graced numerous big name
movies with his musical talents—everything
from Yojimbo
to Godzilla
Raids Again (1955); The
Hidden Fortress (1958) to Son
of Godzilla (1967); Sanjuro
(1962) to H-Man
(1958). In short, Rainbow Kids could
be viewed as a sort of gateway movie for those
interested in branching out into a wider variety
of Japanese films—and Rainbow Kids
functions as a pleasant introduction, teasing
us with many great actors from the past, and
introducing a number of new favorites.
The story is that of a comedic
caper flick—the Japanese title is Daiyukai,
or "big kidnapping," and that is
exactly what happens. Three blundering small
time criminals, Kenji Tonami (played by Toru
Kazama of Masked Rider: the First),
Heita Miyake (Hiroshi Nishikawa, Zero Woman
2005), and Masayoshi Akiba (Katsuyasu
Uchida), decide to kidnap perhaps the richest
woman in all of Japan: the Grand Old Lady,
Toshiko Yanagawa (Tanie Kitabayashi). After
weeks of bumbling, amazingly they pull off
the snatch, not realizing just what they are
getting into. You see, Ms. Yanagawa is much
more intelligent than her would-be captors,
and before long the abduction blossoms far
out of their control, with an experienced,
passionate inspector (Ken Ogata, Kujakuoh,
1989's Zatoichi) in determined, incensed
pursuit, and a thunderstorm of hijinks in
the making.
Rainbow Kids' plot is
a lot of fun, providing clever writing and
a large cast of amusing, broadly sketched
characters. The movie clocks in around two
hours, and so takes a leisurely pace, building
the central conflict slowly and with a nice
spicing of tomfoolery and an overall feel-good,
wholesome tone to appeal to a wide cross section
of viewers. However, arguably the story stretches
too long, and because the kidnapping is never
taken very seriously (the perps are idiots,
and the Grand Old Lady is never in danger),
the story is not very engaging as real tension
is out of the question. Luckily, for the most
part, where the plot staggers, the characters
stride.
First and foremost in Tanie
Kitabayashi's Grand Old Lady, who easily provides
the anchor to the movie. Kitabayashi, despite
being about 80 years old at the time, remains
energetic, executing her performance with
a great degree of charm and spunk. Her character
is probably the most fleshed-out, the movie
exploring her motives and amply displaying
her powerful personality, which Kitabayashi
pulls off perfectly. The kidnappers are somewhat
more mixed in their portrayals, but effective
overall. Calling themselves the "rainbow
kids," Kenji is the mastermind of the
trio, adopting the codename "Thunder"
("Lightning," according to many
online sources) and planning out the initial
crime. Actor Toru Kazama captures Kenji's
scheming serviceably. Hiroshi Nishikawa is
largely undistinguished as the subdued Heita
"Rain" Miyake, while Katsuyasu Uchida
provides an earnest portrayal of Masayoshi
"Wind" Akiba. More memorable than
the eponymous trio are some of the supporting
characters. Increasingly I'm becoming a fan
of Kirin Kiki, who provided a gleefully delightful
performance in Kamikaze
Girls (2004) and has an equally winning
turn here as Yanagawa's quirky ex-maid. Also
memorable is Kyusaku Shimada as a large-chinned
police officer nicknamed Tokyo. Ken Ogata
is also quite good as the cantankerous inspector.
Unfortunately, Eisei
Amamoto doesn't have a lot to do, but
he skillfully essays the role of the anxious-to-please
butler when he is on the screen. Kumi
Mizuno barely makes an impression as Yanagawa's
oldest daughter, but for Godzilla fans, it's
a kick just to recognize her.
The soundtrack has a few memorable
songs, although those that made the most impression
on me were the pop tunes, presumably provided
by the Psycho Hysterics, as they are listed
in the credits. Early on there is a prominent
and recurring hip-hop theme, underscoring
the kidnappers' clumsy preparations, which
is either retro-winsome in this day and age
or a grating example of outdated styles—personally,
I enjoyed it. Masaru
Sato's original themes are much more understated;
after my initial viewing, I'd completely forgotten
they were in the movie because they are employed
so infrequently. However, he develops several
distinctive cues, including a soft, strings-based
theme for the Grand Old Lady that help set
the mood without ever overwhelming the on-screen
action, subtly guiding emotions rather than
whomping viewers over the head with mawkish
themes.
Like the other Geneon live-action
titles I have viewed, Rainbow Kids
is subtitled only, with no dub included. The
subs provided here are somewhat poor, with
noticeable errors and awkward phrasings typical
of high-level non-native English speakers,
but these mistakes are only slightly distracting.
One of my aims in writing for
Toho Kingdom is to highlight overlooked films
like Rainbow Kids, especially if the
film is in an underrepresented genre. The
tendency in America remains to focus mainly
on Japan's sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and chanbara
genres, which all include many worthy films
which I enjoy, but which don't take into account
the vast library of more conventional dramas,
action films, romances, and comedies that
nonetheless are high quality and deserve equal
attention. Rainbow Kids, while not
a particularly exceptional film with its leisurely
pacing and somewhat shallow plot, nevertheless
is highly entertaining with a number of genuine
laughs, numerous recognizable faces, and a
pleasant, simple, inoffensive story that should
appeal to many open-minded individuals if
they would only give it a chance. The fact
that the movie can be purchased along with
three other good-to-great comedies for a reasonable
price (My
Secret Cache, All
About Our House, and The Family
Game, which I have already reviewed) gives
American viewers a great opportunity to experience
some part of the vast spectrum of quality
foreign titles from across the ocean, with
little excuse not to do so. Foreign movies
like these help expand our perspectives while
entertaining us at the same time. When it
comes to entertainment, there is rarely higher
praise, regardless of the star rating.
|
(3/5)