Review for Adrift In Tokyo (Review)

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Introduction
There was a period last summer, following the riots and the torching of the Sony warehouse that held most of Third Window’s stock that it seemed that the company was going to give up the ghost. But it turns out that fans of independent Far Eastern cinema are a dedicated bunch, and their determination to keep this essential resource alive made itself felt across the social networks, and indeed across the world. If a DVD label could be classed as a national treasure, Third Window Films would be it. And from the ashes of 2011, they have emerged stronger and more resolute, with a promise of more Eastern delights than ever before for this Olympic year.

To kick off their 2012 campaign, they bring the Satoshi Miki feature, Adrift in Tokyo to the UK. Satoshi Miki has given Third Window Films two of their quirkiest of titles, Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, and Instant Swamp, coincidentally two films which I have a lot of time for. The prospect of yet another Satoshi Miki film filled me with delight, and I was anticipating the check disc with unseemly glee. For those of you who haven’t yet had the fortune to appreciate one of these unique works, Third Window Films are also releasing the Satoshi Miki boxset on the same day, collecting Adrift in Tokyo, Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, and Instant Swamp.

Eight years in college with nothing but an 840,000 yen debt to show for it isn’t the best of situations to be in for student Fumiya Takemura, especially when you have a debt collector stuffing his sweaty sock down your throat as an object lesson. Given a deadline to come up with the money, Fumiya begins to get desperate, and succumbs to temptation to commit a crime, which is when the debt collector, who has been following him, pounces. Only Ai-ichiro Fukuhara isn’t there to increase the pressure, he’s there with a proposition that will solve all of Fumiya’s problems.

Ai-ichiro has a wad of a million yen, and all that Fumiya has to do to earn it is to accompany Ai-ichiro as they walk through Tokyo. Their destination is a police station in Kasumigaseki where Ai-ichiro wants to give himself up for a certain crime. The catch is that there’s no time limit, no set route, and whether it takes 3 days or a month, Fumiya will have to walk with him all the way. There isn’t a lot of choice for Fumiya, who thinks he can stomach being with the overbearing older man for as long as it takes, but as they explore the unexpected alleys and unique personalities of Tokyo, both men will find something that neither realises they have been missing.

Picture
Adrift in Tokyo gets a 1.85:1 anamorphic NTSC transfer. We all live in the 21st Century, with flat panel high definition screens, hooked up to progressive equipment, don’t we? NTSC and PAL mean so much less now, and I have to say that watching Adrift in Tokyo scaled up to a flat panel display, played back at 24 frames per second is a particular delight. The image is clear and sharp throughout, with strong colours, and rich in detail. Contrast levels are good, and the image brings out the best in the film’s cinematography, the various cityscapes and flavours of Tokyo.

Just for the sake of completion, I had a look at the film on an old CRT set, played back at 60 interlaced fields per second at native resolution, and it looked almost as good, with none of the issues such as flicker or judder that can affect NTSC playback on such displays.

Sound
The sole audio option is a DD 2.0 Japanese stereo track, with optional English subtitles. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the film’s eclectic soundtrack comes through very effectively. There’s a decent bit of separation, and the stereo does a nice job in giving the film room to breathe. Of course a 5.1 audio track would have been preferable, but the audio here is more than acceptable. The subtitles are legible, timed well, and free of error, aside from one subtitle caption a few minutes into the film that hangs on screen until the next line is spoken some seconds later.

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