Chuji, born in Okinawa to a Japanese prostitute and African-American
soldier, is a barman in a dive bar and music venue in the US navy base town of
Yokosuka. A low-level drug dealer, he chances upon Kenji, an ambitious young
yakuza in the alley behind the bar, saving Kenji from a beating from his
rivals. For this, Kenji is eternally grateful, and chooses to lookout for Chuji
as much as he can.
But Kenji is also a man out for himself, and wishes to dethrone is
family head, using an affair with his wife to give him the opportunity to seize
power. Chuji also sees a bright future ahead: his dabbling with a harmonica,
encouraged by the house band, gets heard by a talent scout who wants to offer
him a record contract, his bosses' approval pending; as well as his girlfriend
announcing she is pregnant.
Things come to a head on one fateful Thursday. Yakuza (and their
women's) double-crossings rife, Kenji's plans are soon thwarted and the jealousy
of his younger "brother" sees him use Chuji's drug dealing past to
blackmail him into being the lacky in Kenji's plans, potentially damaging his
future music career, and future full stop.
While a violent film, this is not typical Miike: here the violence is
more straight, compared to the more extreme and comic cases seen in his other
films. At face-value, this is a fairly standard yakuza tale of backstabbing, teaching
us to never trust a yakuza. But the character of Chuji, played by Kiroyuki
Ikeuchi, adds a little something extra to the film.
Mixed-race, Chuji represents something of a changing face of Japan.
Kenji comments that Chuji is an old-fashioned name, but his lifestyle is
anything but. A more Westernised, low-level street dealer, he is a far cry from
the organised, "business" face of the yakuza. An early incarnation of
the slacker staple now frequent in Japanese cinema, as critiqued my Mark Schilling, he lives in an area populated by graffiti, immigrants, back streets
and the homeless, and dreams of a career in blues music. Adopting a homeless,
black US soldier as a surrogate father figure, he is a lost soul in an
industrialised cityscape emerging from the Nineties decline.
Kenji also offers a twist on yakuza meat and drink, with his affection
for Chuji more than simply friendship. Catching an early glimpse of his young
rear end, Kenji's hidden homosexuality manifests in his looking out for Chuji
and aggressive teeth-brushing following each sexual encounter with his boss'
wife, showing a touch more subtlety from Miike.
Music is also important to "Blues Harp" with live
performances essentially shown in full alongside storylines, with a mix of
rock, blues and hip hop on stage at the bar where Chuji works.
But, as an earlier work in Miike's post-V-cinema career, this is a film
not without its flaws. The less established cast, incorporating musicians,
naturally, doesn't always mean particularly classic acting. Chuji can come
across more funny than funky in his live performances, Ikeuchi perhaps
overdoing his blues harp miming a little.
But typical of this era, it also sees Miike experimenting throughout,
with ideas and themes that would be reprised later in his career in
bigger-scale projects. As such, while not a particularly standout work, this is
in some ways Miike at his best, and more low-key works such as "Blues
Harp" would have been welcomed in a career that has often gone to
extremes.
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