NON-STOP A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 2000 David N. Butterworth
** (out of ****)
Murky and confused, the Japanese import "Non-Stop" ("Dangan Ranna") is a pale precursor to Tom Tykwer's exhilarating "Run Lola Run" from 1998. Both films share a central premise of a shady deal gone awry resulting in a pivotal figure--in "Non-Stop" it's actually three protagonists--run, run, running for their life/lives. And there's also the intriguing plot device of learning more about our leading player(s) as time elapses, through flashbacks and fast forwards.
But there the comparisons end.
"Non-Stop" was actually made in 1996 but is only now seeing a US release thanks--but not many--to those indie promoters over at Shooting Gallery. So it's more likely that, if anything, Tykwer borrowed from writer/director Hiroyuki Tanaka (typically credited as Sabu as he is here). If Tykwer did draw his inspiration from "Non-Stop," then he improved upon the original no end.
Tomoro Taguchi plays a would-be bank robber who, as the film opens, is plotting one big score. Forgetting his mask, he ducks into a local convenience store and ineptly shoplifts one, which is when the chase begins. Hurtling along, the thief's pursuer (the store clerk, played by Daimond Yukai) clumsily collides with a local Yakuza (Shinichi Tsutsumi plays the gangster) who subsequently takes up the pursuit.
Much of the film's scant 82-minute running time is made up of these three grown men dashing through the streets of downtown Tokyo, all keeping an oddly safe and equal distance from each other. These men share a common bond in that they are losers: Yasuda (Taguchi) cannot hold down even the most menial of jobs as a kitchen aide, and his planned robbery is partly an attempt to impress his girlfriend; Aizawa (Yukai) is a would-be rock star with a heroin habit; and Takeda (Tsutsumi) is living with the stigma of letting his mob boss take a fatal hit.
Whereas "Run Lola Run" was an adrenaline rush from start to finish, "Non-Stop" is just plain silly. Tykwer's film was smart and kinetic, its heroine alive and ablaze, its real and imagined situations by turns creative and absurd, pulsing with portent and unpredictability. "Non-Stop" is none of these. It feels amateurish and uneven. Even the subtitles are often times poorly translated.
Likewise the film is supposed to be a black comedy but there are few laughs to be found among the shattered lives and machismo violence. One Asian family in the audience, who perhaps detected some culturally significant reference, was laughing uncontrollably during a sequence in which the runners pass an attractive woman who has stooped to pick something up. Momentarily distracted from their ultimate fate, all three men have similar (sexual) fantasies as they breeze on by.
While more clever than amusing, this scene is one of the few in which the director actually appears to be in control of his material, taking full advantage of the inventive gimmick at the center of his film. Otherwise, "Non-Stop" is a long haul, a never-ending marathon of good intentions marred by missed opportunities.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@dca.net
Got beef? Visit "La Movie Boeuf" online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews