Yaji and Kita – The Midnight Pilgrims

In the publicity material for the film, the question is posed: ‘Where is the boundary between real and unreal?’ Anyone who sees this film will quickly realise that this question is more rhetorical than usual. The film denies categorically this boundary, which is often arbitrary in films anyway. In this exuberant, yes, delirious film, the unreal is celebrated as real. Nothing about this grand and absurdist comedy makes it clear that this is a début film. The craftsmanship is stunning. Possibly only the lack of inhibition, or possibly even recklessness, points to the fact that this is the first attempt at directing by a prize-winning scriptwriter. There cannot be many films that tackle the issue of drugs so outspokenly, so cheerfully yet without frivolity. Kita is a young actor with dyed blonde hair. He is addicted to blue pills. And he is openly gay. The story is set in the early 19th century, in the Edo dynasty, when a very traditional Japan was still isolated from the rest of the world. Yaji is Kita’s friend and lover (even though Yaji is also married) and together they decide to go on a pilgrimage to the Iso temple to heal Kita of his addiction. On the way, they have the craziest adventures and the film changes continuously in genre and form. Kankuro Kudo based the film on a famous old travel book, Tokaidochu Hizakurige, and a manga version of that book (by Kotobuki Shiriagari), but he has obviously made very free use of both sources. (GjZ)

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