Live from Toronto: Detroit Metal City Rocks Midnight Madness
Filed under: Festival Reports, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie
Long day tonight on about three hours sleep, but somehow James and I managed to push through to make it to both the party for Richard Linklater's film Me and Orson Welles and the Midnight Madness screening of Detroit Metal City.
The Orson Welles party was great by my personal film fest standards, which include preferring not to be crushed in a crowd of starlet wannabes tottering in high heels. There was a decent-sized, but not overwhelming crowd; appropriate, but not overly loud music; and tasty, but not overly messy snacks being circulated on trays. The film's star, Zac Efron, was on hand, as was Linklater. Geoffrey Rush was also there circulating around.
We had to ditch the party a bit early to allow time to grab a bite of dinner, then headed over to the Ryerson; when Detroit Metal City director Toshio Lee and the film's star, popular Japanese actor Ken'ichi Matsuyama, showed up, a pack of Japanese girls and women who'd been allowed to gather to get an up close view went absolutely wild, screaming so loudly that a guy passing by in front of the red carpet wondered aloud, "Who is it? Brad Pitt?"
Lee briefly introduced the film -- currently the #2 film in Japan and being seen tonight for the first time outside Japan -- which was adapted from an enormously popular manga , by telling the crowd that if they had, in fact, thought they were coming to see a film about Detroit, they were in for a big surprise, and he'd gladly refund their money. Judging by the crowd's reaction to the film, I don't think Lee has anything to worry about.
In brief, the film is a bright, loud tale that immerses you into the story as if you've stepped into the pages of a manga. It tells the tale of a kind, gentle young man named Negishi Soichi, who just wants to make people happy by singing Swedish pop with his acoustic guitar. Instead, life takes a different turn for Negishi, who finds himself the reluctant lead singer of a death metal band called Detroit Metal City (DMC for short), and it's Neghishi's conflict with the dual sides of who he's become, and a love interest who hates DMC but has no idea that he's in the band, that drives the story. It's a fun, loud, riot of a film, and a perfect addition to this year's Midnight Madness.
The crowd at tonight's Detroit Metal City premiere absolutely ate it up. I very much enjoy anime, but even so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. Hats off to Midnight Madness guru Colin Geddes for booking it into his slate this year.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-06-2008 @ 10:51PM
MCW said...
From what you're saying, Detroit Metal City sounds like a pretty good film. Do you know anything of a release date worldwide, or Stateside?
Let me know if you do...
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9-10-2008 @ 7:11PM
root said...
It only opened in Japan a few weeks ago, Toronto nice scoop! I'm hoping it comes to the Hawaii IFF. There's a short anime series also which is hilarious too! I've seen in postings elsewhere that I think HK and S Korea has distributors already lined up for it. Other countries I haven't seen anything about yet. The US companies would be foolish to pass it up.
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9-12-2008 @ 2:34PM
Thomas Purves said...
Caught this at another screening last night. The movie is completely ridiculous but in good way. Best of the fest for me so far :)
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9-14-2008 @ 10:30PM
Rupert Gudgeon said...
I am not usually in the habit of posting comments; that said I could not allow any positive impression of this movie to go unchallenged. There is a fine line between absurd and inane; this film is so far in the realm of the latter the distinction is rendered irrelevant. Even allowing for the loss of nuance attendant with subtitles, there can be no excuse for the laboured and sophomoric writing and acting that characterize this production. Ace Ventura, Pet Detective seems thoughtful by comparison. This film was tiresome in the extreme. So much so I was driven to the ultimate act of contempt; I left after half an hour. While there was certainly a fair degree of amusement expressed by the audience, I wonder if the large Japanese contingent was biased toward their compatriot screen idol. Amongst my fellow movie-goers the reaction was unambiguous derision. Do yourself a favour; skip this juvenile offering.
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9-15-2008 @ 12:04PM
Kim Voynar said...
Rupert,
Detroit Metal City is certainly not a film that everyone is going to get or enjoy. I think that, much like Kamikaze Girls, which this film reminded me of in certain respects, you have to have a certain amount of understanding and appreciation of Japanese pop culture to get many of the references in the film.
While I think there was certainly a bit of fan-mania at the screening, I don't think that's all that was driving the audience response to the film -- and I don't know what screening you were at but I was there for the entirety of the midnight preview, and it was very positive. And I don't think that the majority of Japanese fans in attendance were stupid enough to be that enthusiastic simply because of who the director and star were -- actually, that's rather a condescending thing to say, especially given that you said you left after 30 minutes.
For people who really get into mango, especially the serial series on which the film was based, it's a fun ride. There's definitely an undercurrent of breaking free from the restraints of Japanese culture and social behavior that's very prevalent throughout the film -- Neghishi rejects the Sir Kauser persona that's brought him fame, on the one hand, but on the other, he finds being Sir Kauser freeing -- he can do and say things while in that persona that he could never get away with as himself within Japanese society.
I believe that's at least part of why the manga is so enormously popular, and why the film is in the #2 slot in Japan. The people who live within that culture, I expect, can very much relate to that desire to be able to break free from the strictly imposed societal norms and just be outrageous.
Further, if you look at all at Japanese pop culture on both TV and in manga, they tend to be zany, over-the-top, brightly colored and very expressive, and there's a reason you find that kind of pop culture within a very buttoned-up society. If you view a film like Detroit Metal City only from the confines of a Western understanding, you're likely to miss all these elements of the film and see it for what looks like a very fluffy, inane surface.
9-26-2008 @ 2:46AM
rickr said...
Rupert,
"Gee, if I could only have REALLY said what's on my mind, instead of staying quiet behind my usual mask..."
Haven't you ever experienced this thought at any time in your life? I don't think it's such a unique or fringe experience in any society. That's what lies at the base of DMC, what happens if all restraints are off and you cut loose with whatever gut feeling you have. Maybe it's this sense of universal appeal that makes the film and original manga work.
Of course it's over the top and completely bonkers; it's a comedy based on a parody manga! It's not a satirical take on Shakespeare or the Greek classics, for crying out loud! To paraphrase your own words, there's a fine line between criticism and unfounded opinion. Not being able to recognize this film's potential to provide enjoyment seems to limit your comments to into your private comfort zone...
9-24-2008 @ 8:46AM
Colin G said...
Kim - Glad you got a kick out of the film. I was really surprised as to how well it went over with the audience - or at least the rest of the audience who restrained from committing the "ultimate act of contempt" of leaving after 30 minutes!
DMC was a hoot and played perfectly at the Midnight hour! Director Toshio Lee was delighted with the reception and took many great memories back home with him.
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