Is Tadanobu Asano the Japanese Johnny Depp?

For quite some time now, I've had a big crush on Japanese movie star Tadanobu Asano. Not only is a he supremely gorgeous man, but he's also an incredibly talented and versatile actor who takes on all kinds of unusual and quirky character roles.

I got my first real taste of Tadanobu when I watched Nagisa Oshima's film Gohatto a few years ago. This movie is all kinds of hott! First of all, it's set in the Shogun era (= sexy costumes). Secondly, the story is all about a group of young (male) warriors training at a samurai compound. But wait, it gets even better! All that...er...sword training, makes for some horny guys, and with no women around their obvious alternative is the available pretty boy. Needless to say, tension builds to frenzied heights as several men vie for this young lad's attentions. This bishonen is played by the truly beautiful and fantastically androgynous Ryuhei Matsuda.

(He's soooo pretty!)

Eventually, Tadanobu Asano's character becomes lovers with him--and damn, that's some hot shit! Seriously. Then they have a pretty intense sword fight to the death at the end of the film.... I really want to teach this film in a seminar some day.

Much to my delight, it seems that Ryuhei Matsuda and Tadanobu Asano also recently teamed up again in the film Rampo Jigoku. The trailer for this film looks so fucking awesome--the stunningly surreal mise-en-scene has already got be salivating. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available over here yet so I am keeping a frequent eye on IMDB just in case it comes out soon.

Well, a few nights ago I watched another recent film (2004) starring Tadanobu Asano called The Last Life in the Universe. This quirky little film has a number of interesting elements. First of all, it shifts rather seamlessly from Japanese, to Thai, to English language throughout the story. Secondly, it makes a bizarre introductory allusion to the cult classic Harold and Maud because Tadanobu Asano's character, Kenji, seems to be constantly trying to kill himself. Of course, he isn't successful. It isn't apparent quite why he wants to commit suicide, just that he seems to think it will be a very peaceful experience.

Kenji is a quiet Japanese librarian living and working in Thailand. He has a slightly shady brother who drops by all of the time and takes advantage of Kenji's giving nature. But one night the brother comes over with a "friend". They get into an altercation and the "friend" kills Kenji's brother and then tries to shoot him as well. Kenji is able to defend himself, but ends up with two dead bodies in his normally pristine apartment (he's quite OCD about being neat and tidy). Unable to go back to his home (he's hidden the bodies there), Kenji ends up meeting an unusual young Thai woman named Noi while trying to throw himself off a bridge. Their meeting, however, is marked by another tragedy when Noi's sister is hit by a car on the bridge and killed.

Kenji and Noi share a weird connection as a result of this incident and start living together at her house. Their relationship, however, remains platonic. I actually really enjoyed the fact that the film focused on them trying to get to know one another as friends rather than devolving into a trite love story in which they immediately jump in the sack with one another.

At times it was quite cute to watch their interactions because they both have to overcome language barriers to communicate. Noi speaks Thai and Kenji speaks Japanese. Their knowledge of one another's languages is pretty limited, so they often have to resort to using broken English to understand each other.

Overall, the story didn't have the kind of closure I tend to prefer. At one point it is revealed that Kenji must be a former yakuza because there is a splendid scene in which Tadanobu Asano appears, dripping wet and in nothing more than a towel. Grrrr! When he turns around the camera displays a magnificent tattoo covering his entire back. This is an obvious yakuza marker, because the Japanese don't tend to have body art unless they are involved with organized crime. And later a bunch of yakuza thugs appear and try to kill Kenji, but it remains unclear exactly why they want him dead.

Despite the loose ends, I thought the film was really interesting and demonstrated just how versatile Tadanobu Asano is. I mean, the lad has played everything: a homoerotic samurai, a crazy sadomasochistic hit man, a cyberpunk, a shy librarian...the list just goes on and on. Thus, it was no surprise to me when I cruised over to IMDB.com and found a reference to him as Japan's answer to Johnny Depp. I'd have to say, I wholeheartedly agree. Now, here's to hoping he ages just as well!