The World of KanakoThere's an old saying about being careful what you wish for. The World of Kanako is the story of a former detective turned drunken security guard named Akihiro Fujishima (Kōji Yakusho), who discovers that his daughter, Kanako (Nana Komatsu), has been missing from the home of his estranged wife, Kiriko (Asuka Kurosawa), for almost a week. Akihiro sets out to discover the fate of his daughter who claims he hasn't seen in years, and in the process discovers that Kanako led a secret life loaded with vice. The more Akihiro learns about his daughter, the more his rage swells, as he discovers that they both have a kind of evil running through their veins.
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The World of Kanako is a Japanese film that draws inspiration from multiple modern American films--from the neo-grindhouse stylings of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, to the neo-noir detective story aesthetic of the Coen brothers, with nods to films like Fargo throughout. The scattered--even manically rapid--stylistic shifts, suggests the state of mind of the characters. It is intimated that Akihiro is suffering from either manic depression or schizophrenia, and that both he and Kanako are dealing with the difficulties of mental illness; the film suggests that Kanako is, in fact, a sociopath. The World of Kanako begins by depicting Akihiro's manic search for his daughter as a single-minded quest, as if trying to prove something to himself and Kiriko. He dreams of a "perfect family"--like a shallow TV commercial--and yet, he has destroyed his chance at happiness through his own embittered jealousy of his wife and her prior affair which he credits for splintering this ideal. Kiriko cautiously invites Akihiro to aid her in discovering what happened to their daughter; but when his detective's intuition kicks in, he seems more driven out of a sense of professional satisfaction...although "professional" could hardly be used to describe the unorthodox (even abusive) methods he employs to coerce information from Kanako's former friends and acquaintances. Akihiro starts his investigation into Kanako's past after discovering a stash of assorted drugs in her room, kept in a cute little tin with heart and flower stickers on it. But Akihiro still views his daughter from the perspective that she is somehow a victim of another's machinations, convinced her drug connection is due to a local thug named Matsunaga (Mahiro Takasugi), a delinquent with yakuza ties and copious piercings. Akihiro digs so deep into Kanako's illicit, underworld ties, that he often gets in over his head and ends up in extremely violent altercations. There is the sense that his masochistic pursuit is a form of self-punishment and abasement, and that he blames himself for the past abuse and neglect of his family; but Akihiro cannot seem to shed his rage-fueled persona, often horribly lashing out at even his closest loved ones in terrible ways. Akihiro's journey to reclaim Kanako from a world of vice and monstrosity recalls The Searchers, in which John Wayne's character desperately tries to "save" his daughter from a tribe of Native Americans--at any cost--blindly convinced she is better served in his care. In this, The World of Kanako explores the tendency for parents to be oblivious to the secrets of their children as they mature, and it also addresses the inherent hypocrisy of parents to maintain that fiction of their kids as perfect angels in their mind. The irony here is that those same parents no doubt did the same kind of terrible things when they were their age--The World of Kanako takes this conceit to a nihilistic extreme.
The disparate and varied tones of The World of Kanako come from the state of mind of the core characters.. Akihiro's view of the world is warped to resemble an action movie, as evidenced by the outlandish opening titles, and other set pieces and shootouts. Kanako frequently catches the eye of several introverted young boys in her school, including Ogata (Hitoshi Hoshino). Their time together is accompanied by a reoccurring, saccharine J-Pop song playing in the background and vibrantly lit halls, evoking a halcyon dream of days of youth. Kanako is largely an enigma, and her inner thoughts always suspect. Episodes where she appears as a sympathetic, genial--if brooding--young girl are shockingly contrasted when her sinister schemes come to fruition, and those who dared to trust her are left horribly humiliated and even viciously beaten, making "Kanako's world" one of madness and torturous suffering. Where Akihiro's "world" is presented as gritty, with a cynical, mature tone, Kanako's is superficial, with scenes of hypersensory overload, like the emoji-laden, ultra-pop drug party she hosts. There is a predatory hierarchy among the characters in The World of Kanako; even law enforcement officials like Detective Asai (Satoshi Tsumabuki), who is heading up an investigation into a spree killing where Akihiro was a witness, often condescends to Akihiro, smirking while sucking on a lollipop like Kojak. Guys like Asai and the yakuza thugs searching for Kanako, angrily abuse Akihiro-- they empower themselves by tearing down others. In this world, it is the law of the jungle which rules, and that is the kind of world where Akihiro and Kanako live, even if it comes at the expense of their souls.
Recommended for: Fans of a wild and disparate film that deals with the varied problems born from an abusive family and failed parenting, as well as a world which fosters viciousness like a virtue, ignorant to the rippling effects of the loss of innocence that follows.
The disparate and varied tones of The World of Kanako come from the state of mind of the core characters.. Akihiro's view of the world is warped to resemble an action movie, as evidenced by the outlandish opening titles, and other set pieces and shootouts. Kanako frequently catches the eye of several introverted young boys in her school, including Ogata (Hitoshi Hoshino). Their time together is accompanied by a reoccurring, saccharine J-Pop song playing in the background and vibrantly lit halls, evoking a halcyon dream of days of youth. Kanako is largely an enigma, and her inner thoughts always suspect. Episodes where she appears as a sympathetic, genial--if brooding--young girl are shockingly contrasted when her sinister schemes come to fruition, and those who dared to trust her are left horribly humiliated and even viciously beaten, making "Kanako's world" one of madness and torturous suffering. Where Akihiro's "world" is presented as gritty, with a cynical, mature tone, Kanako's is superficial, with scenes of hypersensory overload, like the emoji-laden, ultra-pop drug party she hosts. There is a predatory hierarchy among the characters in The World of Kanako; even law enforcement officials like Detective Asai (Satoshi Tsumabuki), who is heading up an investigation into a spree killing where Akihiro was a witness, often condescends to Akihiro, smirking while sucking on a lollipop like Kojak. Guys like Asai and the yakuza thugs searching for Kanako, angrily abuse Akihiro-- they empower themselves by tearing down others. In this world, it is the law of the jungle which rules, and that is the kind of world where Akihiro and Kanako live, even if it comes at the expense of their souls.
Recommended for: Fans of a wild and disparate film that deals with the varied problems born from an abusive family and failed parenting, as well as a world which fosters viciousness like a virtue, ignorant to the rippling effects of the loss of innocence that follows.