A Hidden Gem (light spoilers ahead)

"Gonin", or "The Five" (1995) feels like a lost 90s cult classic. It's difficult to find online, but if you're looking for a film that feels both familiar and new at the same time, I recommend this one. The film tells the story of a disco owner, Mikihiko Bandai, who plots to steal a large amount of money from the local yakuza. To do so, he decides to recruit Junichi Mitsuya, a con-man who specialises in blackmailing affluent queer men, and Kaname Hizu, a former detective. Along the way, he also recruits Jimmy, a pimp with ins to the yakuza, and Shohei Ogiwara, an down-on-his-luck salary man.

The thing about the plot to steal from the yakuza, however, is that it all goes terribly wrong. TERRIBLY.

They group is identified immediately and the yakuza send out two hitmen to take them all out and recover the stolen cash. It's a straight forward enough plot, and one that even feels vaguely familiar if you've seen any sort of heist-goes-wrong movie. What keeps "Gonin" interesting is not just the overarching mood of mystery and anticipation, but also the extra details that it adds to the characters. It's a heist movie that isn't really about the heist at all because in the aftermath, we in the audience begin to learn more about the original five; in a horrific twist, Ogiwara is revealed to have a truly sinister reason for being as wacky and high strung as he is; Jimmy has his own motivations and problems; Hizu probably ought to have known better.

And it would be absolutely unforgivable of me to fail to mention one of the biggest subversion of the typical yakuza or heist movie that this film brings to the table: THE GAYS. While films like this where 95% of the characters tend to be men have always had homoerotic trappings (indeed, most gangster/crime movies brimming with machismo end up circling back around to something queer), "Gonin" takes it a step further in a way that truly feels fresh even 26 years later.

The film opens with a dream sequence from Bandai's point of view that reveals some version of the events of their first meeting: Bandai is walking through a glimmering, brightly lit alleyway, having found the dropped driver's license belonging to Mitsuya. He finds Mitsuya beating a man with a bat, and rather than appearing horrified, as Mitsuya turns to look at him, Bandai is struck by awe. He sheds tears as Mitsuya's face is revealed. The over-exposed alleyway in his dream is reminiscent of something celestial. Later, they meet again in real life and there is something unmistakable charged in the air between them. Without revealing exactly what takes place: "Gonin" contains a gay love story that is both understated and RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. Critics at the time of "Gonin"'s release described the film as "Reservoir Dogs but gay", which is a feat in and of itself, if you've ever seen "Reservoir Dogs". Another component of that is that the scary hitmen that the yakuza hire to track down "the five" are also explicitly introduced as a queer couple. Truly, there is something in this movie that speaks directly to things I have always wanted to see in a movie. It's a hot mess. It's a horror story. It's a romance. It's a tragedy. It may seem slow moving at times, but even in the slow moments, it seems only to be lingering in the world of the film.

I could just be hyping it all up a little with that last part, but I truly think this is a good film, and one that appears to have been quite overlooked by many audiences today (at least of the people I know, which is why I am writing this review to let them know about it, haha). I think it's probably due to the fact that this film seems so... unavailable for streaming. But if your interest is piqued, IT'S WORTH A WATCH, OKAY?

The music of this film also deserves a special shout out, I think. The soundtrack keeps things moving along and keeps the sense of mystery alive. I mentioned briefly in this review that the mood is quite good throughout the film, and it is. The fact that this movie was captured on film gives it that tasty film quality that makes you want to rub your hands all over it. The city nights are lit by neon lights and a beautiful, sickly green. Lighting is done with purpose here; highlights are utilized to their full dramatic potential. The opening credits of the city in green and blue tones alone will excite you for the colors and pictures to come.

All I can say is that I hope more people watch this movie. I've been talking about it to people non-stop since I watched it a few days ago (probably to the point that they will be disappointed if/when they actually do see it, but oh well lol). There's just something about it that is so unique to me. It's something I would not have expected to have been made in 1995 (never mind today), but I'm glad it was, and that I stumbled across it.

(Review crossposted to letterboxd)

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Uninteresting main story

Haven't seen the anime or the manga so I thought the stuff with the two main high school kids was pretty damn uncompelling, just to get that out of the way before I say anything else. I found it incredibly hard to get into the drama, especially from the angle of the main story. It wasn't until episode 5 that I actually felt myself paying attention to every single scene, which is not a goodl thing when there are only 6 episodes.

As someone who hasn't seen the source material whatsoever, I found the character of Uenoyama Ritsuka difficult to understand or care about. Eventually, (like, episode 4 honestly), he became a little bit more compelling to me, but there is no real indication toward his emotional state or desires through the acting, despite side characters commenting early on that he likes Mafuyu, and even his voiceover saying as much. As a viewer, I simply did not buy it. I couldn't see the chemistry whatsoever, from either direction. To me, it was just some physical touches that I guessed were supposed to read as intimate, and then Mafuyu staring unemotionally at Ritsuka and vice versa. I think the actors were... fine... and if I were to guess, I'd place the blame on the acting from Sanari (Mafuyu), because in the flashback scenes, I didn't believe the chemistry between Mafuyu and Yuki, either (Like seriously, why did this black hole of a character have people falling all over him?).

After a slow start with Mafuyu, when his backstory finally starts to get revealed, he becomes a little bit more interesting... but not by much. I could understand why he was so reserved after his backstory began to be revealed, but when the acting/character failed to follow up on the backstory reveal with... I don't know, anything interesting, I started to write him off again until, as I mentioned, episode 5, at which point I was appreciative of the added drama, even if it actually made me start to actively dislike Mafuyu.

It was pretty disappointing to see both the main characters fall so flat because their individual storylines are interesting on paper but since the characters both having the same sort of reticence, it didn't really allow for there to be any chemistry between them.

All this said, I did really enjoy the side characters, especially the older bandmates, Nakayama Haruki and Kaji Akihiko, and Mafuyu's past friend, Kashima Hiiragi. I thought their actors all did very well, and there was much more indication of something between the older bandmates right off the bat. I think Yanagi Shuntaro (Haruki) did a great job with delivering a clear sense of what his character was feeling in the initial episodes, and then Akihiko was reliably interesting in the later episodes. In general, I was much more invested in Haruki and Akihiko's interactions (nothing came of it, though, so I'm guessing I misread the situation... or it will be addressed in a second season?), and even their interactions with the two leads; the dynamic with them both as adults giving advice to two moody teens was, I thought, a fresh one. To add on to what I was saying earlier, both Ritsuka and Mafuyu as characters really only became interesting to me when they were reacting against the side characters, be it the older band mates, the other classmates, or the classmates form Mafuyu's past.

The side characters are, however, still the side characters, so it did not bode well for my overall impression of the show that as soon as the two leads were alone in a scene together, I felt my brain start to atrophy and my eyes glaze over. I can handle slow paced drama, but this just wasn't it. As the old adage goes, the worst thing a film can be is boring, and this goes for the main couple of this show.

Lastly, musically speaking, for a show about getting a band together, there isn't really much to comment on with the music. I appreciated that there was at least an effort made in having the actors look like they were playing their instruments, although the show suffers some of the usual lack of realism when it comes to musicians. I also personally did not like Mafuyu's voice at all, so there's that.

If there is a season 2 (I'm unclear if one is in the works, but it seems like there's room for it), I might tune in at some point, but it certainly won't be for the romance between the leads.

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