Tag (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #4

People are calling Yusuke Yamada the Japanese Stephen King. At the age of 40 he's already written more than 30 books, all horror stories. I feel that he's someone whose books I really ought to read. I need to see what the fuss is about.

When he was 19 he wrote his first novel, "Riaru Onigokko". It was an unprecedented success for such a young man. In 2008 it was made into a film, "The Running World". Four sequels were made, followed by a television series. Then in 2015 Sion Sono made another film based on the book. That's the film I'm writing about now. It's also called "The Running World" in Japanese, but in English it's called "Tag". To be fair, I think the Japanese title is better. "Tag" makes no sense in the context of the film.

It's difficult for me to talk about the plot without giving away spoilers. If I just tell you what happens, you'll think the film makes no sense. Don't worry, everything is explained at the end.

Mitsuko

15-year-old Mitsuko is in a bus going away for a school trip. Out of nowhere an invisible force attacks the bus, killing everyone except Mitsuko. She runs away until she reaches her school. Or is it her school? All the other girls know her, but she doesn't know them. Her best friend Aki tells the others that Mitsuko is suffering from amnesia, but as we soon see, Aki knows more than she's saying.

Together with two other friends they skip the first class and go to the lake, where Sur gives her opinions about the nature of the universe. Sur isn't as knowledgeable as Aki, but what she says is partially relevant to Mitsuko's plight.

Aki

Sur

Taeko

They return to school for the second class, just in time to witness a mass slaughter. The teachers kill all the schoolgirls with machine guns and assault rifles.

Mitsuko is in a daze. What's happening? Together with a few surviving girls she runs into the next town, where the mystery deepens.

This is an amazing film that has to be seen to be believed. Surprisingly, the critics love it. It has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Cinema audiences are less enthusiastic and say it doesn't make sense. They're wrong, but I understand their problem. It's a film that has to be watched more than once to be fully appreciated.

Unfortunately, the UK release from Eureka Limited has subtitle errors. In one short scene the subtitles are missing, and in another the subtitle is in the wrong place (two minutes too early). I've rung them, and they say there won't be a new release. They're not a professional company. Any other company would have sent replacement discs free of charge.

Missing subtitles:

55:29  Great posture and steady head.

55:33  She's probably in her best condition.

55:37  They're right behind the leaders. It'll be close.

Wrongly placed subtitle:

At 65:19 there's a subtitle "The Male World". This is the translation of a sign that appears on screen at 67:24. 

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