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Night Long, Vol. 1 (1992)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Tokyo Shock / 2002
Directed by Katsuya Matsumura
Written by Katsuya Matsumura
Cast: Eisuke Tsunoda, Ryosuke Suzuki, Yoji Ietomi & Hiromasa
Taguchi
Review by James Garfield
A group of Japanese youths are stopped at a train crossing.
One of them asks another for directions, then flips out and
stabs her to death. The three other youths manage to subdue
the murderer, but are permanently marked by what they have
seen. They decide to have a party to try to put the event
out of mind. Each of them is to bring a female companion to
the party, but the night of the gathering, two of them are
abandoned by their dates, while the third runs across a
street gang who beat him and rape and murder his girlfriend.
The gathering turns into a quest for vengeance, as the trio
track down the gang for some proportionate revenge.
Definitely not to be confused with the 1981 Barbra Streisand
romantic comedy All Night Long, and without Lionel Richie’s
80s hit of the same name anywhere on the soundtrack, this
first entry in director Katsuya Matsumura’s life-affirming
All Night Long series sounds like a rape-revenge action
movie, but distinguishes itself with its bleak tone. No
catharsis can be found; the viewer will most likely not want
to cheer on the vengeful trio. Here even the seemingly
justified violence comes across as senseless, brutal, and
evidence of total derangement resulting from trauma. The
victimization and humiliation of various characters starts
near the beginning of the film, and seldom lets up. A
two-pronged message seems to lurk underneath it all:
violence degrades everyone involved, even the perpetrator,
and that same violence is an inescapable part of the human
condition. The treatment given this message is certainly
flawed, partly due to the performances, full of
fake-sounding deranged laughter, but All Night Long is still
compelling viewing; I am curious to see how Matsumura
illustrates his theme in the sequels. |
