TWILIGHT OF THE COCKROACHES
A film review by Shane R. Burridge
Copyright 1996 Shane R. Burridge
(1987) 105m.
I imagine director Hiroaki Yoshida chose this title in preference to `Day of the Cockroaches' (too apocalyptic) or `Night of the Cockroaches' (too horrific) for this part-animated, part-live-action tale. But while `twilight' - evocative of a closing chapter/era - is really more appropriate, it is simply wishful thinking to suggest that cockroaches have had their time on Earth.
This is one of those films that you watch and wonder why it was ever made. It's hardly box-office material: a love triangle between three cockroaches during an ongoing war - the war in this case being against two humans, the indifferent Mr Saito (Kaoru Kobayashi ) and his neighbor the roach-hating Miss Momoko ((Setsuko Karasumaru ). Using real actors in the human roles makes it hard for us to fully identify with the animated roaches, despite Yoshida's overripe anthropomorphizing (these bugs make Jiminy Cricket look like E.T.) Furthermore, who really wants to identify with cockroaches anyway? In some cases it works: the low angle, POV floor shots; the sequence where one of the older roaches scoots among the shadows to retrieve a crumb on the floor (he does it on six legs as opposed to walking upright!). At other times it's just offputting. Being a confirmed roach-hater myself I didn't find anything cute about partying roaches hanging around a toilet or crowded around leftovers. Also, the storyline rambles. There's just too much to-ing and fro-ing, and at one and three-quarter hours running time the film is overlong. Film's major saving grace is that at no time the roaches burst into song (a la The Roches, perhaps?) - cartoon characters singing love songs to each other is another of my pet peeves. In fact, the simple, delicate score may be the best thing it has going for it.
It's hard to recommend this movie because its audience is unclear. Obviously, those with an interest in animation should check it out. It's probably not offbeat enough for cult status (although it surely marks the cinematic debut of a talking turd). What's interesting is that if this film had been made forty years earlier it would have undoubtedly been seen as a political statement. The comparisons with Hiroshima and Nagasaki are plain: the roaches' allies in the neighboring `country' across the backyard have German names; civilian roaches are annihilated indiscriminately by insecticide bombs; the roach army flies into battle on suicide missions; and of course, we all know which insects will be most likely to survive a nuclear holocaust, don't we? This is a GODZILLA destruction allegory pared down to insect level. It still doesn't excuse the film from being dull; the characters are largely static, uninteresting or cliched. With some judicious editing the storyline could have been tightened considerably. Forget trying to sympathize with cockroaches - watch CREEPSHOW if you want to see some real roach action.
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