Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Tetsuo (1989), aka Tetsuo: The Iron Man, is the breakout film by Japanese director Shin'ya Tsukamoto.  He made a handful of low budget films before this, however this was the one that gave him international recognition and a cult following.  Tsukamoto also acts in most of his own films, this being no exception, as well as those of other directors, having a small role as one of the scientists in Shin Godzilla which I just reviewed and also Scorsese's upcoming film Silence.

Tetsuo opens on a man, known as The Metal Fetishist (played by none other than the director himself, Tsukamoto), walking through a junkyard, collecting pieces of scrap metal.  He returns to his hut, cuts open his leg and sticks a piece of metal inside.  The name makes sense now, right?  Maggots get into the wound, so he freaks out running frantically into the road where he's struck by a car in a hit and run.

Original newspaper ad

Later, Tetsuo (Tomorowo Taguchi) the businessman who was driving the car, cuts himself shaving, a small piece of metal sticking out of his cheek.  He touches it, spraying blood all over his mirror.  His girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara), who was him during the hit and run, calls saying she's felt strange ever since.  He assures her they have nothing to worry about.  Then in the subway, Tetsuo sits down next to a woman in glasses (Nobu Kanaoka).  The woman sees a smoking pile of metal on the ground, which she touches thus becoming possessed by the Metal Fetishist.  She chases after Tetsuo, metal growing from her body, trying to kill him.  He narrowly escapes, but not without being infected with this crazy metal growing disease.  From there things get weirder and weirder, I can't really explain it, you just have to see for yourself.

At a mere 64 minutes, the film is packed to the gills with bizarre imagery and outlandish ideas making it feel longer than it is in the best possible way.  Shot on grainy black and white 16mm film, it has a rough and gritty feel with all the actors drenched in sweat. The locations utilize the industrial corridors of Tokyo with giant clouds of steam billowing from their factories.  There's a pulsing and pounding score by Chu Ishikawa which ratchets up the intensity.  Tsukamoto also makes brilliant use of stop motion special effects to show the metal consuming people and hyper lapses to communicate a kinetic passage of time.  The cinematography by Tsukamoto and Kei Fujiwara gives a claustrophobic feel to the film, making great use of odd angles and lightning fast camera moves.  Tetsuo is a potently fresh and original film, though the influences of David Cronenberg's body horror and David Lynch's obsession with all things industrial are certainly present, Tsukamoto absorbs those inspirations and moves in his own direction creating a masterpiece.  For those looking for something different, it's an absolute must see.

My Rating:  5 out of 5

I'll leave you with a quote from the man himself,
   
"It's strange.  Part of me loves a city like Tokyo, but part of me would quite happily destroy it." - Shin'ya Tsukamoto

The Trailer: