9 Souls
By Chris Hyde
January 19, 2005
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The Land of the Rising Sun's cinemas are seemingly packed with new directorial talent, but few rising stars appear to have the skill of Toshiaki Toyoda. Following his debut 1998 effort Pornostar (as yet unavailable in North America), in 2001 he made the fantastic manga adaptation Blue Spring. Showing off a hyper-realistic style and an affinity for multiple storylines, this powerful and exciting film was given a nice domestic DVD release by Artsmagic last year. Now, on the heels of that disc comes the same company's issue of the director's third film, 9 Souls.
The picture opens with a vignette that shows a brief sketch of the life of Michiru, a central character in the movie (played by Ryuhei Matsuda, one of many Blue Spring alumni who turn up here). What transpires leads Michiru to be put in a jail cell with nine other prisoners, and is the only real background information that the audience initially gets on any of the people that the film will follow for its duration. Shortly after Michiru's arrival, one of the ten inmates in the cell throws enough of a fit to be forcibly removed — but once the guards have left, the remaining nine manage to find a way out and quickly hightail it to freedom.
Once escaped, the prisoners begin a road journey that ostensibly will lead them to the place where their still incarcerated companion has stashed mounds of counterfeit cash. Their trip begins in a pretty lighthearted way, as the group encounters all manner of comedic situation while fleeing from the law. A fair bit of the first 45 minutes or so of the film is taken up with the sometimes silly antics of these individuals, but the amusing tone is only a mask for the more dramatic events that will confront them all in the second part of the movie as they all come face to face with their individual destinies.
With nine separate storylines to keep track of, the plot of this one could easily have become a muddled mess. In fact, one of the things that held the excellent Blue Spring back some was a meandering middle portion wherein the tale wobbled back and forth a bit. But here Toyoda proves himself to be a filmmaker who is still on the improve, as his juggling of the interactions between the characters is far more adroit than it was in his previous work. While perhaps 9 Souls falls a little short of the powerful heft that Blue Spring possessed, what's obvious is that this is a filmmaker who is becoming much more comfortable with his means of storytelling. Unafraid to enter into the surreal world of fantastic filmmaking, Toyoda's style still grounds its flights of fancy in the bedrock of character; and while the events onscreen may take wild and oft-times unexpected turns, they are so in tune with the essence of the people onscreen that they never ring false or offkey.
Though it's certainly the artistic temperament of the director that in the main drives 9 Souls, the film would never be the triumph that it is without the amazing cast assembled here. The aforementioned Ryuhei Matsuda turns in his usual excellent performance, but all of the other members comport themselves so well that the result is a truly wonderful ensemble piece. Actors as varied as Yoshio Harada (known mostly for his tough guy roles in '70s and '80s Japanese film), Takuji Suzuki, Kee and Mame Yamada (the diminutive actor who played the one sympathetic adult in Blue Spring) show a range of emotion that allows the film's mix of comedy and tragedy to play well together. It would be far too easy for this movie to veer too much into one or the other of these two competing styles and muddy the entire enterprise; but careful handling by Toyoda of this brilliant nonet of actors helps to carry it all off in spectacular fashion.
Given that 9 Souls represents a topnotch work by one of Japan's most groundbreaking new directors, even a barebones disc of this film would be of benefit to domestic audiences. But Artsmagic provides much more in this case, filling out their DVD not only with a great looking anamorphic widescreen transfer but also including a host of bonus material to flesh out the film. There are a pair of interviews with the filmmaker that help explicate his vision, the movie's original trailer, some promo material and a fair bit of biographical information packaged together with the feature. Also of value is a commentary by Midnight Eye's Tom Mes, though this audio track at times ranges a bit further afield than one would like. It's not that this voiceover lacks information, as Mes lets loose with a raft of data about the people in the film — but sometimes the track suffers from a lack of focus. Still, it's a valuable inclusion that certainly provides enough to make it necessary and it's surely a bonus that enhances the release's attraction.
Clearly, Artsmagic has done Western audiences a big favor by carrying two excellent Toshiaki Toyoda films in their catalog. While there still remains room for growth in the director's vision (this viewer at least would like to see him eventually tackle some female characters that aren't mere sidelights), his unique style and creative viewpoint make him one of the most exciting filmmakers working in Japan today. Watching the director's style mature going forward should be quite a treat, as the progression from Blue Spring to 9 Souls shows him to be an artist who is undoubtedly adding to his craft as he goes along. Since word has it that Toyoda is already toiling on his next production (The Hanging Garden) with rumors of a film depicting the bozosoku (Japan's infamous biker gangs) to follow, we should be seeing plenty more from this maverick in years to come. I for one can't wait to see what he does next.