It's incredible to think there was a time when we got two Satoshi Kon films only two years apart. Tokyo Godfathers came out in 2003, Millennium Actress in 2001. Kon died in 2010 at the age of only 46, and for such a young guy he sure made an imprint.
Tokyo Godfathers left behind the surreal, imagery-rich films Kon had previously done, Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress. He did Paprika after this, and the show Paranoia Agent, then if you toss in his short in Memories, that's basically all he ever did. It's really sad.
Tokyo Godfathers played at my theater while I worked there, and I remember watching it and not liking it. As I explained in Millennium Actress, I was a young dumb kid obsessed with Perfect Blue and I wanted him to make the same thing again and again. Truth is, nothing would ever return to the darkness and viciousness of Perfect Blue, not ever Paranoia Agent, which tbh I don't think I ever even finished.
The film follows three homeless outcasts. We have an older man who's been homeless the longest, Gin, a gay crossdressing middle aged guy Hana, and then a teenage runaway Miyuki. They discover a baby left in a dumpster early on in the film, and for various reasons they end up wanting to find the baby's parents and return her to them instead of involving the police. As this adventure builds, we learn more about our three characters, we get hints to their backstories, and get some build into their stories.
Coming at this in 2022, I have to say that it's really good. The film is short and sweet, and it's all realistic for the most part. It's a well-spun dramatic story, and I'd say emotionally effective. I will say, I think the plot turns towards to the end were a little confusing, and the end is perhaps a tad overdone, but those are my only nitpicky issues. We're left with a lot of individual redemptions, and give that the last day in the film is New Years Day, it's obvious we're indicating towards a better future for our unlucky three protagonists.
I wish I'd watched this with my girlfriend. I think she'd like it. I'll give it 4 stars.
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