Summary
A charming mockumentary for lovers of the Japanese film industry and, let’s face it, film fans everywhere.
“‘Extra’ means that they’re extraneous,” remarks the seemingly ubiquitous Nobuhiko Obayashi in an opening ‘interview.’ “So they generally weren’t treated like people.”
EXTRO (エキストロ) aims to put the focus on the background players. As a mockumentary in the vein of Christopher Guest’s films, and of course Ricky Gervais’s Extras, director Naoki Murahashi primarily focuses on the sexagenarian Haginoya (Kozo Haginoya playing a kind of version of himself).
Set in ‘Warp Station Edo,’ a replica town used primarily for making jidaigeki TV series and films, Haginoya often stands around for hours in the background while the principal actors prep. At other times, his unconscious gestures ruin a shot and require multiple takes. Haginoya’s dream is a simple one: to be a fireman “like Steve McQueen” in The Towering Inferno.
Murahashi’s film is often disarmingly funny. Using a rare understated comedy not often seen in such insular Japanese productions, it subtly digs at big budget film and TV and indies with equal delight. We meet Haginoya, for example, on the set of a Koji Yamamoto vehicle. The period setting dictates that he should shave his beard due to the Edo setting, but instead he negotiates to be a farmer.
There’s so many moments that lovers of Japanese film will dig here. At one point we see archival footage of an abandoned kaiju film called (wait for it) ‘Prehistoric Space Monster Gamogedorah.’ There’s a mayor who is kind of a minor David Brent character, one who has to keep being asked whether he he should be name-dropping entertainer Shigeru Matsuzki’s name. Cut to self-conscious awareness of the camera.
The movie loses a little bit of momentum, and its sense of direction, with the introduction of two cops going undercover as extras to catch a drug dealer. While their earnest fumbling provides some of the funniest gags in the film, not to mention a chase finale, it takes us away from the joyful antics of Haginoya.
These minor structural issues aside, it’s hard to ignore the heart of the film. Obayashi, Tatsuya Ishii, and Yuki Saito are among the many celebrities and filmmakers who appear as themselves to speak fondly of extras. The unscripted mockumentary format makes all of this feel genuine and a touching love-letter to the actors who give character to a production.
Released in Japan a month before his death, it’s appropriate that the film closes with a wonderful summation by the great Obayashi. “To me, extras are maestros,” he says, adding that “the happiness or sadness you feel…they do their best to bring that out. As maestros, extras are actually extros.” Obayashi concludes that “They are part of the beauty and power of film.” Who are we to argue with the late master?
2020 | Japan| DIRECTOR: Naoki Murahashi| WRITER: Hirohito Goto| CAST: Kozo Haginoya, Koji Yamamoto, Yuki Saito, Yasufumi Terawaki, Nobuhiko Obayashi | DISTRIBUTOR: JAPAN CUTS (US), Yoshimoto Creative Agency (JPN) | RUNNING TIME: 89 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 17-30 July 2020 (JAPAN CUTS)
