Movies

SYNOPSIS

In Tokyo in the not-too-distant future, each area is home to a unique "tribe" (street gang), and their members maintain control while defending their territory with an iron fist. Riots and skirmishes break out between the tribes on a daily basis, but a delicate balance is maintained as they remain roughly equal in force. That is, until a certain incident causes their equilibrium to shatter and disintegrate. In the sex trade mecca of Bukuro, Buppa, his son Nncoi, and Bukuro Wu-Ronz tribe boss Merra use their political connections to expand their influence. One day, Merra sets a trap for Kim of the Musashino Saru, a fun and peace-loving tribe that he despises with all his being.

Sion Sono

Sion Sono is a Japanese director, writer and poet. Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1961. He started his career working as a poet before taking his first steps in film directing. As a student he shot a series of short films in Super 8 and managed to make his first feature films in the late 80s and early 90s, in which he also starred. The film that helped him reach a wider international audience and establish himself as a cult director is Love Exposure (2008). The films of Shion Sono often tell the stories of socially marginalized teenagers or young adults who end up engaging in activities that involve murders, sexual abuse and criminal behavior. Sono's films in most of the cases contain scenes filled with graphic violence and blood that echo the long pinku eiga and anime tradition of Japanese cinema. He directed over 30 feature films.

Filmography

2014       Tokyo Toraibu / Tokyo Tribe

2013       Jigoku de naze warui / Why Don't You Play in Hell?
2012       Kibô no kuni / The Land of Hope

2011       Himizu

                Koi no tsumi / Guilty of Romance
2010       Tsumetai nettaigyo / Cold Fish
2008       Ai no mukidashi / Love Exposure
2005       Kimyô na sâkasu / Strange Circus
2001       Jisatsu sâkuru / Suicide Club

1993       Room, The

1990       Jitensha toiki / Bycicle Sighs

Festivals

2014       Toronto, Rio, Busan, London, Rotterdam

Tokyo Tribe is a perfect festival film, a feverish rhapsody with its astronomic silliness and pitch-perfect urban poetry.

Tina Hassannia, Movie Mezzanine