Review for 'Tagatameni', aka 'Portrait of the Wind'.

Should all be familiar with Asano in one way or another by now I suspect. Here he is in another small drama showing his usual very calm and almost blank, subtle really, approach that we know him for. Suggests hidden depths to many I suspect, and his popularity is in part down to that and his handsome hearthrob looks. As Tamio, the third generation of his family to run a small local photography studio in a now ageing building stood amongst much more modern constructions, he leads a very small life amongst old friends and local acquaintances. This is the key to the film in many ways, that the scale is familiarly small for a Japanese movie. Shot on a low budget, with a small range of characters that's never too bare or simplistic, it's potentially finding itself on far too familiar ground. What shifts the story beyond the immerging romance with Ayako is where the unfamiliar and original elements, or the potential confusion or faults, begin to appear.

Tamio is the victim of an event for which the perpetrator fails to be held to account for, and he does begin to gently spiral into unhappiness, far from an absolute spiral of mental decay (the script is minimal for other reasons), Tamio is now in a situation into which everyone feels they must try to intervene even though he largely (but not entirely) seems to cope with. In order to portray the following events, the Director makes the decision to give an appropriate representation of the crime, but it's a crime that by its very nature is extreme and will undoubtedly take the characters into much more substantially dramatic ground - at least I think most would perhaps expect it to - and so it's the perhaps inappropriate protrayal of the aftermath which is most interesting.

Either managing to show great restraint, or simply following the typically-gentle style of small dramas coming out of Japan, first-time Director Taro Huyagaji gives a quandry. I am left wondering if there wasn't the confidence to go into the more heavy drama that would normally follow, and delve the film from the gentle to the extreme - something that would be a big shock, as per the key event of the film - of if there's the intention or natural need to show the restraint of small town people being tested by the actions of those from more city-dwelling affluent backgrounds. Either way, there's either a fault to be found here or a very individual strength. The Director also smartly manages to introduce elements which tempt the viewer into thinking the tone and direction of the film will get much darker, sinister and manipulative than it might actually end up being - watch out for the magazine writer who pokes his nose in where it isn't wanted, that's a very nice touch.

Aside from this, the locations are beautifully shot and very summery in their feel, and this makes for a nice escapist feel that adds to the mix. The atmosphere is gentle, simple, intimate and engaging - infact when in larger environments the characters look lost, a testament (I feel) to the success of the intimate approach and how suprisingly attatched to the characters I became. Asano is the key of course, his central character performance being typically solid and fascinating to watch, but all those around him neither draw attention away or let him walk away with the film. Potentially the script does occasionally fall into dangerously near pretentious in its style, some characters getting little moments which they just don't quite manage to pull off convincingly, but which don't affect the overall quality. To be expected to some extent, a surprising success and one which does show inexperience, but a project which everyone involved has every right to be proud of in terms of how well it all seems to turn out in the end.

The film also manages to use a form of fastforwarding, truncating the story by jumping further down the line months at a time. Fine, in order to show the series of events and give a substantial amount of story to what could otherwise have been a mood piece, the Director also keeps you on your toes and asks you to pay attention to the changing relationships and the characters behavious towards one another in an unusually unclear - looks intentional, to say the least - manner which is another key aspect to how he chooses to tell the story. Briefest of flashbacks also add into the mix, little moments of doubt or surprise in background stories pop-up nicely.

Overall, the potential for the Director to mature feels clearly on display, and the project itself, although incredibly small in scale, remains intimate and interesting throughout. Great depths are in there to be caught if you wish, and a great little story is there to be enjoyed if you happen to catch it somehow. Unfortunately, as with many of the Asano films to appear with English Subtitles in Japan in the past, there hasn't followed subsequent alternative releases and these discs now remain fairly undiscussed and obscure. In time, I am going to find myself increasingly likely to have to track back through a wealth of fascinating performances in which Asano played a role. Fascinating, small little film. Great piano-based soundtrack (out there on CD) too, lovely.

Note : Whilst looking into the title of the film yesterday, I noticed IMDB lists the film as 'Taga Tameni' and that other places have also mentioned it as 'Taga Tame Ni'. Either way, the continuous romanisation used in Japanese sites have it as wel always have, as 'Tagatameni'. DVDAsian mention the literal translation of the title seems to be 'For Whom's Sake', which seems to bare out from my minimal understanding of Japanese and also seem to make sense when watching the film. As I say in this review, the subtitles on the Japanese give the prefered English title of the film to be the appropriate 'Portrait of the Wind'.

'Tagatameni' Trailer (streaming Real Video).
'Tagatameni' Press Release at Bandai Visual (Says English Subs Included!).
'Tagatameni' Order the R2 Japan DVD with English Subtitles at YesAsia.