Bad Poetry Tokyo

"Bad" isn't just in the title of Anshul Chauhan's feature debut "Bad Poetry Tokyo". There is a lot going on in this film that could be classified as bad, so much so that there is a push to extremes to outdo itself. As such, we are left with a film that can be difficult to enjoy, much like the life of its lead.

Small town girl Jun (Shuna Iijima) has big Hollywood ambitions, moving to Tokyo in the hope of finding the opportunity to move on towards the US. A graduate in English, she flaunts her language skills at an audition for a film shooting in Canada. But, as so often revealed, the bright lights of Tinsel Town cast an even greater shadow.

Her acting career not yet actualised, she spends her nights working in a hostess bar, while in a relationship with one of the bar's employees, Taka (Orson Mochizuki). Sleeping with other girls from the bar, however, he justifies himself to Jun by knowing what she gets up to with her clients each night. Far from a happy life, one bad night pushes Jun away from her job, her lover, her dreams and, of course, Tokyo.

On her period (actually), Jun is simply not in the mood to meet with a key client and his somewhat unsympathetic advances. Skipping work, she returns home to find a man going through her possessions in the dark. Eventually recognising him as a friend of Taka, he hits Jun, leaving with the money she has saved for her dream move to LA. Jun is now aware that she has no money, a boyfriend she can't turn to and a job she can't return to.

She heads for what she believes is her only option: home. In a small town sitting beneath the mountains, she finds her mother has committed suicide and receives anything but a warm welcome from her father after a five year absence. A clearly troubled past between the two, Jun simply wants her share of the inheritance she feels owed from the sale of her grandparents' land. But her father has other ideas.

While she waits for her father to hand over the money, she runs into former school friend Yuki (Takashi Kawaguchi); clearly a fan of hers. It is not long before the pair are drinking, smoking and hmm-hmming with each other. Yet the short but turbulent trip home opens up old wounds for Jun and leads Yuki to acts seemingly beyond him, resulting in some very, very bad things.

Starting at the end, Yuki's switch from seemingly happy-go-lucky local boy to murderer after a couple of days, seems too sudden and unbelievable a turn. But perhaps here, Chauhan is trying to emphasise the negativity surrounding Jun and how it spreads to Yuki; her words of how "bad" she is challenging him, eventually pushing him to his bad side. Though little is really known of Yuki before the past couple of days.

This negative energy, however, can also stretch to the audience somewhat. By the film's conclusion, and the further pushing the extremes of what can happen in one life, both Jun's life and the film itself need some light relief. While dealing with dark or serious subject matter, there is always room to throw in some more comedic or lighter moments. "Bad Poetry Tokyo's" sole piece of light relief comes in the form of a somewhat lurid skinny-dipping scene coming a little unexpectedly, but seems filled with too much symbolism to act as the relief required; as unnecessary as the various shots of Iijima in her underwear.

There is something of the foreign in "Bad Poetry Tokyo". Directed by an Indian, Taka is played by Japanese-African-American Orson Mochizuki and Jun's sole friend in Tokyo, Nana (Nana Blank), is Russian (I think), with many crew members also non-Japanese natives. This, therefore makes "Bad Poetry Tokyo" somewhat reminiscent of Abbas Kiarostami's "Like Someone in Love", featuring an escort at the centre, with a jealous boyfriend in Tokyo. As Chauhan himself admits, he doesn't know much of the world of hostess bars, and so the career is not explored in too much depth. Likewise Kiarostami's film sees the escort more providing company for her client rather than sex, showing that an external view may not always shed any new light.

There is a lack of progress in Jun's life. In returning home, her dream shattered, the spark that causes the finale confirms what she already knew: that she should never have gone back. Jun's arrival prompts an immense character switch in Yuki for the worse, potentially ending any possible reconciliation for her life, as a seemingly remorseful Taka seeks her out - though his coolness and manipulative nature leave little certain as to his intentions. In the end, running away from everything is Jun's only option.

But despite all this bad stuff going on, is "Bad Poetry Tokyo" a bad film? Well, it's not bad. There is some good filmmaking on display here, with some good cinematography and an ever-increasing claustrophobia. Iijima's performance in the lead is a good one, but she is treated to a laundry list of negativity: past, present and future. Breaking the constant barrage up would have helped not only Jun but the film in making a greater impact, avoiding a nagging sense of boredom as to what is to come next. A smile wouldn't hurt...well, maybe for Jun, having had her face smashed in.