Tokyo Eyes (1998)

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Sight of the Hunter

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Tokyo Eyes on DVD

A wonderful performance by teen Hinano Yoshikawa glues together this engrossing crime story with a romantic twist. Hinano's brother, a cop, is on the trail of a shooter called "Four Eyes." Hinano uses her feminine wiles to track him down herself, and finds herself attracted to the strange and fascinating misfit (Shinji Takeda). He actually only pretends to shoot people in order to teach them to be nicer to others. The film boasts an appearance by the great Takeshi Kitano as a not-too-bright gangster, but the film does fine even without his presence -- a very high compliment. Director Jean-Pierre Limosin gets an excellent handle on the feel and texture of his Tokyo locations. But it's adorable, precocious Yoshikawa who steals every moment.

Kino home video has also released the following:

The Most Terrible Time in My Life (1993)
This crazed cult film stars Masatoshi Nagase (from Jarmusch's Mystery Train) as a Tokyo detective who keeps his office over a movie theater; clients must buy a ticket to come up and see him. Director Kaizo Hayashi presents the film in beautiful black-and-white Cinemascope, which is always gorgeous to look at, even if the topsy-turvy plot isn't always easy to follow.

The Keeper (1995)
A disillusioned corrections officer (Giancarlo Esposito) opens his heart and his home to an accused rapist (Isaach De Bankole).

For more information, log onto Kino's website or call them at 1-800-562-3330.

Starring: Hinano Yoshikawa, Ken Mitsuishi, Moro Morooka, Ren Osugi, Shinji Takeda, 'Beat' Takeshi, Tetta Sugimoto
Written by: Jean-Pierre Limosin, Santiago Amigorena, Philippe Madral, Yuji Sakamoto
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Limosin
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Language: Japanese, French with English subtitles
Running Time: 97 minutes
Date: March 24, 2004