Tokyo Fist
Tokyo Fist film poster
Directed byShinya Tsukamoto
Screenplay byShinya Tsukamoto[1]
Story by
  • Hisashi Saito
  • Shinya Tsukamoto[1]
Produced byShinya Tsukamoto[1]
Starring
  • Kahori Fujii
  • Shinya Tsukamoto
  • Kōji Tsukamoto
CinematographyShinya Tsukamoto[1]
Edited byShinya Tsukamoto[1]
Music byChu Ishikawa[1]
Production
company
Kaijyu Theater[1]
Distributed byKaijyu Theater[1]
Release dates
Running time
87 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Tokyo Fist (東京フィスト, ＴＯＫＹＯ　ＦＩＳＴ) is a 1995 Japanese film. It was directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, who also stars in the film along with his brother Kōji Tsukamoto and Kahori Fujii. The film had its premiere in September 1995 at the Turin Film Festival in Italy.

Plot

The film tells the story of a Japanese door-to-door insurance salesman, Tsuda Yoshiharu, who takes up boxing after a chance meeting with a former high school friend, Kojima Yakuji. Tsuda is shown to be under immense stress due to having to support both himself and his fiancée, Hizuru, who quit her job after they became engaged. One day, Kojima turns up at Tsuda's apartment claiming he was invited and Hizuru lets him in. While ostensibly waiting for Tsuda, Kojima comes onto Hizuru, who rejects him. Still, Tsuda finds out and becomes enraged at Kojima, but Kojima beats Tsuda badly and humiliates him in front of Hizuru. Hizuru is intrigued by the animalistic Kojima and, after a confrontation in a restaurant with Tsuda, breaks up with him and moves in with Kojima. She also starts to pierce herself and get tattoos. Hizuru wants to box, but is denied that life by the surprisingly cowardly Kojima, who says she is a scary freak of a woman. Kojima is offered a fight against an incredibly deadly boxer and is shown to be wary of accepting.

One night, Kojima explains to Hizuru how he got into boxing. When he and Tsuda were in high school, a friend of theirs was killed by salarymen, who were then jailed for the crime. Tsuda and Kojima both vowed to learn boxing and take revenge when the culprits were released. However, when high school ended, Tsuda abandoned this plan and suppressed the memories instead, leaving only Kojima continuing down this path. Kojima claims Tsuda became "a nobody" when he accepted an office job and hid from his past. Tsuda now reminds Kojima of the salarymen who killed their friend and this is why Kojima wants to fight him so much. Hizuru warns Kojima that, by provoking Tsuda, he is inadvertently creating a killing machine and offers to fight Kojima instead. Kojima scoffs at the suggestion of fighting a woman and Hizuru retaliates by berating him, revealing to Kojima that everyone considers him a coward. In a rage, Kojima accepts the dangerous fight he had been offered earlier.

Tsuda still has feelings for Hizuru, and he keeps trying to win her back, leading to a confrontation where they bond by beating each other's faces to a pulp (Tsuda ends up badly mutilated in the process). Hizuru returns home to Kojima afterward, where the two have aggressive sex. In the end, Kojima and Tsuda have a sparring match in their boxing club, in which Kojima nearly beats Tsuda to death. Afterwards, Kojima goes on to fight his real boxing match while Tsuda is in the hospital being treated for wounds to his eye which will not stop bleeding. Meanwhile, Hizuru has gone overboard with the piercings and has implanted several metal bars in her body. Kojima wins the match, but he has been pushed past his limit and his face is shown to be unrecognizable because of injuries. His face breaks apart while he is celebrating his victory, suggesting fatal wounds. Hizuru is shown to be in a field, where she attempts to rip out her various piercings, but ends up bleeding to death. We then see Tsuda standing in front of an apartment building, the pupil of his eye now missing. The final shot of the film is a zoom in on a punching bag hanging in an empty boxing gym while the cheers of a crowd are heard.

Cast

Release

Tokyo Fist premiered in September 1995 at the Turin Film Festival in Italy.[2] It received theatrical release in Japan on October 21, 1995.[1]

Reception

In Japan, Tokyo Fist was placed on some publications best of the year list, including Kinema Junpo.[2]

See also

Notes

References

  • Mes, Tom (2005). Iron Man. The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto. Fab Press. ISBN 1-903254-35-3.
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