Summary: After Japan suffers a major economic crash, many Japanese move to mainland china, one of whom is the vampire Kei. On the verge of death he is found by an orphaned boy, Sho, and saves him from gangsters out to take revenge for Sho, his brother Shinji and friend Toshi, stealing to survive. Sho and Kei form a bond that endures through the ups and downs of Sho's mortal life.
Cast:
Hyde ... Kei
Gackt ... Sho
Leehom Wang ... Son
Tarô Yamamoto ... Toshi
Susumu Terajima ... Shinji
Zeny Kwok ... Yi-Che
So this film is part vampire movie, part gangster film with all the craziness of a live action manga. It was written by Gackt, Kishu Izuchi and Takahisa Zeze and it's engaging and has surprising depth.
Now I know what you're thinking, a movie part written by a musician (Gackt) and staring said musician and another musician (Hyde) who happens to be a good friend of his - it's going to be terrible, right? Wrong. This film is brilliant. It makes me cry every single time I watch it ... and it makes my husband cry too.
Let me give you the low down.
This is Kei (Hyde) and he's a vampire.
When Sho first meets him he's not doing so well and he looks like this:
At this point Sho is not Gackt because he's a wee thing and is played by Kanata Hongo (isn't he adorable):
There's a whole love story going on (unfortunately not Kei and Sho) while Kei angsts about being a vampire and Sho grows up to be a big shot gangster himself.
There is angst (oh boy, is there angst), there is love (familial, romantic, it's all in there), there are amazing gun battles (don't worry about the physics ;)), there are themes of deep racial divide (Sho and Kei are immigrants in a country that doesn't really want them), there is hopelessness (the story has an inevitability in its journey), there is heartache (if you have a soul you will cry ;)), there is comedy (Gackt can be very silly when he wants to be), there are vampires (they just fit)—there is everything we could ever want from a movie. This is a film that has it all.
This movie takes us through Sho's lifetime and it feels as if we are there every step of the way. It makes us laugh with him, love with him, bleed with him, and then it gives us Kei too, who has just as much depth, as well as a plethora of supporting characters who become real to us.
This is a great film that doesn't get enough respect and I thoroughly recommend it.
Thank you. It's a great movie.
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