Director Takashi MIIKE; Producers Naoya NARITA, Youichiro ONISHI; Screenplay Toshihiko MATSUO, Toshiyuki MORIOKA; Dir. Photography Hideo YAMAMOTO; Editor Yasushi SHIMAMURA; Music Atsushi OKUNO; Cast Seiichi TANABE, Hiroyuki IKEUCHI, Saori SEKINO

Drenched in the a.m. sweat of local rock-and-roll heroes and in the blood of gaping knife wounds, BLUES HARP hits the ground running as Kenji, a brazen, power-hungry yakuza, desperately tries to escape a rival gang hunting him down in the deserted streets of Yokosuka. Ducking into the back alley of a club blaring an irrepressible second-hand blues, Kenji chances upon the establishment’s proprietor, Chuji, the son of an African American G.I. and an Okinawan native as well as a reluctant, part-time pusher answerable to Kenji’s would-be murderers. Motivated by some mixture of spite, compassion, and possibly sexual desire, Chuji helps Kenji elude his pursuers, capping a night of chivalry that began earlier when he rescued a female patron, Tokiko, from sexual harrassment and, potentially, rape. An intriguing love rectangle quickly forms—Tokiko moves in with the barkeep while Kenji settles for admiring him from afar, all the while oblivious to the affections of his own possessive male underling, Kaneko. When Kenji renews his quest for power, his feelings for Chuji unwittingly enmesh the pusher in a web of conflicting allegiances that not only threatens both their individual dreams for success but their lives as well. Evoking the dazzle and spontaneity of the superstar concert performances Chuji aspires to, this lyrically shot genre-buster cements director Miike’s reputation as a fearless, stylistic innovator and entertainer.

—Michael Wong

Presented with Giant Robot