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 ostalgia" revisits Riichi Nakaba in younger
times, though by no means are they more innocent. Director Takashi Miike
starts things off with a bang as he treats the audience to a merry little
black-and-white flashback complete with festival music where we witness
Riichi's birth and the joy it brings to his father Toshi. Not so much that
Toshi has become a father, but that the baby is boy and he wins the bet he
had going with his friends. We also learn that Riichi is named after a
hand in mahjong, and if it's not obvious already, this kid was kind of
screwed from the get go.
The story proper starts when
grade schooler Riichi and Yuji are flipping through porn mags and find
themselves the target of bullies led by arch nemesis Sada (who tangled with
Riichi more than once in "Innocent
Blood"). Sada promptly jumps them using a clever combination of
fireworks and bike chains. When Riichi comes home bloody and bruised (better
get used to it, kid), but nevertheless victorious, his parents and
grandfather decide to throw a drunken party to celebrate Riichi's entry
into manhood. As a reward, the little boy gets his first taste of sake.
When Riichi shows up in close all banged up the next day, it gets the
attention of his teacher Miss Maki, who decides a visit to Riichi's home is
warranted. Riichi's mother greets her calmly and politely, while Grandpa is
obviously infatuated. When Toshio shows up, he makes no secret of his
distaste for this over educated and slightly prissy young woman before
Grandpa teaches him a lesson that he unfortunately forgets all too quickly.
Things get really ugly, however, when Toshio shows up at home drunk after a
night out with his stripper mistress. This proves to be the last draw for
Riichi's mother, who promptly packs up and leaves. Problem is, she's the
only one in the family who was working, which prompts Dad and Grandpa to
start making counterfeit medicine to sell for food and sake money.
As much as "Innocent Blood" proved to be an
atypical Miike film, "Nostalgia" is even more of a shock for
viewers familiar with Miike's usual output. "Nostalgia" is an
example of the well-worn "coming of age" story. As in the case
of other stories that cover the genre ("My
Life As A Dog" and "Stand
By Me" to name just a few), "Nostalgia" at times feels
unfocused, and there is no one major story arc that we see from the start
all the way to a satisfactory resolution.
"Nostalgia" is also very episodic in nature
as it hops around to tell not only the story of Riichi as he prepares for
middle school, but also the marital troubles of his parents, his friend
Kotetsu's mentally disintegrating grandmother, and the well-meaning but
ultimately unhappy Miss Maki. Those are a lot of elements to juggle, and
while the story could have ultimately fallen apart into a pile of
disparate storylines, Miike pulls it off. Miike's knack for injecting
meaningful shades of characterization into the lowliest of minor
characters manages to make each of the characters memorable and
likable, even borderline sociopath/future Riichi Nakata punching bag Sada,
who manages to make the painfully bad period costume of sweater vests and
flared jeans look menacing.
The performances Miike draws from the younger members
of the cast are especially good and puts the adults to shame. In
particular, the very broad overacting on the part of V-cinema and Miike
veteran Naoto Takenaka, which is a chore to watch. The character itself
isn't all that likable and is nothing more than a caricature of the
hard-drinking, hard-gambling, and shiftless bad dad. However, Naoto plays
Toshi as just a loud and obnoxious tool, prone to shouting up close at
people and making faces when he isn't drunk or chain smoking. It's like a
bad photocopy of a better performance, either by him in another movie, or
by another actor altogether.
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