Fantastic Fest / Boys on the Run

Having recently attended my first Fantastic Fest here in Austin TX & having no idea what to expect, I was completely unprepared for what was, essentially, an onslaught of film. Now, as anyone who's watched 30 films in 7 days will tell you, they tend to blend together in the aftermath. My memory of the festival is more like a highlight reel, a slideshow of amazing out of context cinema.

That being said, there are a few films that stand out, with no effort whatsoever, as cinematic experiences that will shape the way I consume this art form for the rest of my life. These films remain crisp in my memory, they sit on the tip of my tongue, waiting to be gushed about the room to anyone who would listen. I fell in love this weekend & it saddens me to think that these films (for the most part) will go on, unseen and unloved by the majority of the movie watching public. It's with that in mind that I've decided to write about my favorite film of the festival, to try and encourage the seeking out of this movie, however impossible that endeavor might become.

Boys on the Run, based on a Manga of the same name, is the story of Toshiyuki Tanishi (played by Kanzunobu Mineta), a 29 year old Japanese man who holds a job refilling vending machines that dispense small bubble capsules with  trinkets inside. Tanishi is painfully socially awkward & mostly keeps to himself. With his porn collection and his seemingly frequent visits to the red light district, he's built a life where his desires are seen to, but without any meaningful connection to anyone. The director Daisuke Miura handles the character with a deft hand, straddling the line between simple loner and hopeless deviant constantly. Tanishi never seems reprehensible and he always seems like he's upset with his situation & clearly wants a better life, unaware of how to get there.

The movie roots itself in a pretty solid "boy meets girl" plotline when Tanishi meets a cute co-worker, Chiharu, (played by Mei Kurokawa) and they begin their slow, awkward romance. She falls for the one thing he has going for him, his calm earnestness & honesty. At this point the film heads into standard rom-com territory, presenting Tanishi with a series of comedic mishaps that he must weather to keep the girl. But this didn't dawn on me until the movie was over, it's all "disguised" with a heavy Japanese sensibility. The comedy suits the character we've come to know and root for in act one, it proudly wears its perversion on it's sleeve and even becomes part of the charm.

The third act focuses mostly on the revenge portion of the story involving a rival co-worker who's meddled with Tanishi's romance, all the while taking cues from Rocky & Taxi Driver. If that sounds crazy, it's because it is, in the best possible way.

If you've ever lived the awkward, passionless life of the main character, I promise you laughter, possibly tears and one of the most satisfyingly unconventional endings I've ever seen in this kind of story. Someone I saw this with said he was depressed with how much he identified with Tanishi & I couldn't help but agree with him. However, like Tanishi, under all the dirt, depression and humor, Boys on the Run, finds an incredibly honest & touching voice that's begging to be heard & accepted.

And thanks to Google image search & Rahat over at Life as Fiction for the couple of seconds of joy when I thought Criterion had released this film on DVD.

Spectacular box art sir, thanks :)

Released in Japan in January of 2010, screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin TX, September 2011. Movie trailer @ YouTube - Quite possibly NSFW