TEKKON KINKREET
I finally got around to watching this movie that everyone was talking about back in 2007 or whatever.
Much to my surprise, I wasn’t instantly entranced like I thought I’d be! I think I’d convinced myself it would be Mind Game Again Only With Wild Children…which in retrospect is really terrible of me.
What it was: a really innocent movie. I dunno how else to describe it. The characters were very earnest, and there was far less violence and death than expected. (No glamourization of the aforementioned, either.) So it felt a little naïve and sweet. Even when it strayed into cruelty and sadness.
I think what threw me was those understated characters and somewhat realistic handling of fights (prop usage, low blows, bruises, desperation) juxtaposed with the weird-ass inhuman characters, the superhuman abilities of anyone on the fringes of society, and…yeah, the inevitable endgame psychic mindfuck they managed to put off so long that I started getting hopeful about its exclusion. I wasn’t expecting much of the fantastic other than a strange and impossible town, and the topic was breached so casually that my disbelief unsuspended itself.
I would still recommend it. It didn’t grab hold and shake me relentlessly, but it’s in my veins and I want to see it again. Mind Game was like flash powder for my heart; Tekkon Kinkreet: a lit match.
