Every once in awhile a movie comes along that, after watching, makes you say "Huh?" Tetsuo: The Iron Man is one of those movies. I had heard of it and seen it mentioned many times over the years, but never had the opportunity to see it before now. I'm still not sure that I have seen it. Of course, I saw the images flicker by me on the screen, but there is a big difference between seeing the moving pictures and having a clue as to what they all mean when put into this particular pattern.
I don't even know where to begin. This is easily one of the most deranged visual experiences I have ever put my eyes through. This film is more experiment than man, much in the same way our salaryman is more metal than human. This film just completely assaults the eye holes of anyone willing to subject themselves to it, something I actually recommend.
To describe the plot would most likely end up being a futile attempt to make sense of a nightmare, a nightmare that someone else experiences. Something comprised of their fears and insecurities mashed together and played back to a complete stranger. A stranger who is left to their own devices in search of an explanation of said images.
In an attempt to apply some sort of logic, I will try to give a brief overview of what the plot seems to be. We watch as a character performs some metallic enhancement surgery on himself, then gets hit by a car. The man driving the car is the salaryman, our main character. Soon after the accident strange things begin happening, first he is pursued by a woman with a metallic appendage, who proceeds to ravage him. After this encounter, he begins turning into a metallic being. Growing in power and changing in form, he is on a collision course for a battle with the person he hit earlier, who is going through a similar transformation.
The plot is anything but easy to figure out. So, I will not continue trying to figure it out. It is best if you let the insanity just was over you. Watch as he goes through his transformation, watch as he loses his identity in this aluminum foil like mass. Even as I try to think about, my mind is just a mass of misfiring synapses, it is beyond my explanation.
Tetsuo is shot in an intense and immediate black and white. It seems to work better this way than it would have in color. Color would have made it too busy, the black and white effect allows the focus to be on the shapes and directions that the can move in, further letting the eye extract different shapes, rather then being show sharply defined as they would in color. There is extensive use of stop motion animation. It is used in transformation effects, and other metallic motions as wires slither across the screen, as metal objects move of their own volition.
Director Shinya Tsukamoto has crafted a twisted film in Tetsuo. I have yet to experience any more of his nightmares, although I feel the compulsion to after this. There are touches of inspiration here from Lynch to Cronenberg, from Raimi to Giger. I can see the potential influence this had on some musicians, primarily the video work from Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson.
If and when you watch, shut down the intellectual portion of your brain. Any attempt to force this into intellectually conceived notions of narrative will likely result in a migraine. Let the images wash over you and you will be left staring in the face of a twisted experiment. It acts on the emotional level. Sit back and try to enjoy.
This DVD release looks very good. It is said to be remastered, but I haven't seen anything prior to this release. It was a low budget affair made nearly 20 years ago, and it shows. It is a grainy affair, yet still satisfying. It is presented in a ratio of 1.33:1 which is it's OAR. The audio has three flavors, new 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS mixes, plus the original dual mono.
Extras are a bit thin for my tastes. There are trailers for upcoming Tartan Asia Extreme releases, and other Tsukamoto films, and some filmographies for the director and stars. As an added bonus, copies available only through FYE and presumed for a limited time, come with a CD of music inspired by the film. 11 tracks of dark techno-goth excursions from the likes of Gary Numan, Front Line Assembly, Pitbull Daycare, and Rosetta Stone. It is a decent collection, not the best songs I've heard but it is an interesting extra and I am glad it is there.
Bottomline. An interesting experiment, a twisted nightmare of metallic proportions. This is recommended only for those who have a taste for the bizarre, those who enjoy the outlandishly experimental. A journey into a the world of Tsukamoto, do you think you're ready?
Recommended.
Also at Blogcritics.
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