Summary
It might be metal AF, but it’s also filtered through some extreme slapstick. Leads Sadao Abe and Riho Yoshioka are both terrific in a creative fusion of very different energies.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen or heard anything from filmmaker Satoshi Miki, who counts the wonderfully coutured Adrift in Tokyo (2007) among his eclectic filmography. Channeling his manic energy into a distinct mix of metal, J-pop, and old-fashioned romantic comedy, it is unlikely you will see another film like LOUDER! CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SINGIN’, WIMP! (音量を上げろタコ！なに歌ってんのか全然わかんねぇんだよ!!) this year. Or at any other time really.
Rock star Sin (Sadao Abe) is known for two things: his outrageous pancake makeup and his mega-loud voice. Sin’s dark secret is that he is doping. Drugs aren’t that scandalous for a rock star, but his experimental vocal chord doping has pushed his body past its limits. After a series of explosive reactions, Sin lays low, encountering street performer and self-proclaimed psychic Fuka (Riho Yoshioka), who has an incredibly tiny voice. Sin comes into her life like a hurricane, helping her find her voice and give them both some kind of personal redemption.
LOUDER! is a pretty strange film. This is, after all, a movie that features a fountain of blood emerging from the lead in one scene, and elderly women comically singing metal lyrics in the next. This penchant for self-parody is lovingly set in and around the Kichijoji area, a laid-back musical and artistic hub outside the regular beat of Tokyo. In this context, Fuka and her doting Uncle Zappa (Suzuki Matsuo, looking more like a Japanese Brian May) don’t seem so out of place.
The hyper-kinetic structure feels a bit like one of Takashi Miike’s manga adaptations, in that it continues to build in insanity until it reaches an explosive fireworks of a conclusion. At one point, the main duo are escaping their latest calamity in a motorcycle while Sin projectile vomits blood. Yet there’s also a mountain of slapstick too, from exaggerated pratfalls to an extended kiss that is combined with the farewell/race for your love car trope.
Sadao Abe is having a ball moving back and forth between costume Manson-esque performer and over-the-top cheer squad for Fuuka. Rising star Riho Yoshioka gives a transformative performance, growing her presence and vocal range as her character evolves.
Coming with a pretty killer soundtrack, LOUDER! loses some of its manic energy in the elongated final act, dragging its feet as it works towards a somewhat incongruous ending. Nevertheless, Sadao Abe’s film is almost guaranteed a permanent place on the cult and underground film circuit, and is unashamedly here for a good time.
2018 | Japan | DIRECTOR: Satoshi Miki | WRITERS: Satoshi Miki | CAST: Sadao Abe, Riho Yoshioka, Suzuki Matsuo | DISTRIBUTOR: Asmik Ace Entertainment, Fantasia International Film Festival (Canada) | RUNNING TIME: 106 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 21 July 2018 (Fantasia), 12 October 2018 (Japan)
