'The Specials' on a Saturday...
General Reviews
Well, the party is over…
Montréal's Fantasia Film Festival ended this past Sunday, and it will be missed. I am a volunteer who celebrated his fifth year on the job during the thirtieth anniversary of the event, and I was lucky enough to get autographed posters, stickers, cards, t-shirts, and the chance to have at least one celebrity speak to me (Vera Farmiga, I thank you). As well, as a volunteer, you receive free tickets for the event once you have covered a certain number of hours on the job. I have tried to balance my shifts with viewings, and, for the most part, I got it right. I would watch a movie and then head out, change into those hideous orange shirts for the volunteers, and then guide people to the right theatres, scan tickets, and answer general questions from the public. The strange thing is that this year, I had been stopped more often for advice on what to watch. This was odd. The average filmgoer at this event knows exactly what they like and what they need to see.
And this leads me to the last film that I watched…
On Saturday, August 1st, Fantasia had the Canadian premiere of The Specials by Uchida Eiji (it had already premiered in its home country of Japan in March of this year). It was my last ticket as a volunteer and I noted how long the lines were for this one in particular (the schedule noted that it had been sold out for at least two days). I was not sure that I wanted to watch another gangster film, even one with such a silly conceipt at the heart of it, but I went in, sat up close (only space available), and just let myself go with the story.
A gangster's boss wants to take over a rival's territory, but the rival has continually used body doubles for all his personal trips and affairs outside of his clan's area of control (too many men have died for this security measure). Frustrated, he demands that Kumashiro (Shiina Kippei) find a way to get to Hongo (Renji Ishibashi), the boss' rival, and take him out. By a lucky coincidence, Kumashiro hears that there is only one event that Hongo attends in person without the benefit of a doppelganger: his granddaughter's dance recital. So, naturally, he does what any gangster in the yakuza would do to retain the respect and favour of his boss: he learns how to dance.
Please bear with me. It is one of the funniest premises of the year and I was taken by the scenes where he attempts some very basic moves, hires four other men to complete the team (oh, yes, I forgot something: the killing at the recital can only take place if the dance team makes it past the regional finals to the last round, of course), and learn valuable lessons about what makes someone a great dancer, and how the past is never past.
The team consists of Kiryu (Nakamoto Yuta), Shin (Aoyagi Sho), Murasama (a fantastic Ozawa Hitoshi) and Daiya (Sakuma Daisuke). At first, they cannot believe what the assignment is (professional hitmen have their pride), but the offer of 100 million yen is too tempting, especially for Daiya. Of all the people involved in this caper, his motives are the most touching. Once a promising child prodigy with a demanding mother, his antics and tantrum lead to her death (a very silly death, but still…). He becomes a professional assassin who does not fulfil one particular contract (you understand why when you see the target), and he decides to hide who he is by working in an orphanage. But like I said, the past is rarely past. Asuka (a wonderful Urara) is an orphan under Dai's guidance (one scene where he prepares dinner and she gives a rather existential speech for a ten-year-old is quite funny and sweet) and a dance prodigy as well, and she becomes the unlikely teacher of the quintet after she gives a spontaneous lesson on a street corner. It is her relationship with the actors that really glues this film together, and I loved the chemistry she brought to the role, especially in the scenes where she rehearses the actors at a community centre. And Daiya (nicknamed Dai) overcomes some of his past trauma and decides to use the money offered on this final contract to save the orphanage he works for.
So, do they make it to the finals? Is the boss avenged by his underlings and the new hires? Can the film sustain the comedy and tragedy for almost two hours. I would really like to answer all of these questions and any others you might have. But I would also like you to watch this film and appreciate just how clever, touching, and damn unique it is in a year filled with remakes, sequels and other celluloid projects without a touch of imagination.
The Specials really is special…and maybe it also begs for a sequel?
Let's dance!
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