Tokyo Trash Baby (2000)

First of all I am quite sentimental about this film because its ending credit theme song "Sa Iko/Let's Go" introduced me to Wyolica, the singer of the uplifting record! The song is one of my favourites, not even just a fave of Japanese songs. But a favourite on my general list. I recommend the song at least. It was a gem of a gift after sitting through this film, which isn't bad at all actually; I've downloaded and just may watch again right now.Anyway it's about a seemingly 20-something woman who crushes on her neighbour, a struggling bohemian type rocker, a nearby casanova she mysteriously lusts after. Well obviously she's shy. He is a regular at the shop where she works and she doesn't speak. He walks by her going upstairs or down the veranda, says hi apathetically, and she doesn't speak. She does however go through his trash. I am relieved I find this gross because I do find little harm in a little stalking lol But I also understand the trash thing. The ending scene where she finally trashes his trash as Wyolica starts singing about doing just that and basically enjoying life, don't get down about failures, and sa iko/let's go. Made me cry. I too am a heartbroken 20-something who even had my horoscope tell me to throw away my ex's photo, don't hold onto items he owns, and MOVE ON!Anyway the film was very nice to watch, the actress is adorable but her acting, at least in this film: only one thing annoyed me and that was the tearless gasping sob toward the end of the film. Maybe if tears came down and it didn't look like she was mocking having to cry I would've tolerated it. However I understand perfectly well why the character would want to cry, I just didn't like the actress's crying. The film was quiet, in that serious way indie films will be, particularly Japanese films, which are sometimes confused/accused for being tedious. People might be used to having plots spoonfed to them, and don't want to sit through long scenes without dialogue. I however fancy the impressionistic style of silently following the character for long stretches of time. Most of the film honestly is her digging through trash and making the shrine in her room, reading his mail to herself, trying on his old clothes, being bored at work, being alone at night, however that serves its purpose. It's about a lonely part time worker who obsesses over a no-good guy by looking through his trash. It could've been more lively but the mood is also quite lonely and stolid as the character is, so. It'll have long scenes of her just eating something, reading something, running, swinging in a playground, crying, etc. I like it though.

Mami Nakamura's performance makes this one a big winner. She's engaging, endearing, amusing, and sympathetic from start to finish. That's what it takes for a small film like this to succeed, a film which says: "Here's an offbeat character, do you like her? Does she draw you into her life, entertain you, and invite you to wonder what will happen to her?" It takes a clever script and a good performance. Tokyo Trash Baby delivers on both accounts.Miyuki (Nakamura) is a girl in love with her upstairs neighbor, a musician. Instead of trying to meet him she is content with stealing his garbage and foraging through it to find things that will give her insight into his personality. She collects many things, like empty cereal boxes, cigarette butts, love letters, discarded musical scores, and creates a shrine to her love in her apartment. She discards a used condom. The story falls a little flat after she does eventually meet him face to face, but Miyuki is still fun to spend time with. As are the few peripheral characters in the film.Tomorowo Taguchi plays the manager at the café where Miyuki works and is typical Taguchi odd but doesn't have much impact on the story. Two other characters do, though: Kô Shibasaki plays co-worker, Kyoko, whose screen time is devoted almost exclusively to telling Miyuki stories of her sexual conquests, dreams, and dilemmas ... and bumming smokes. Masahiro Toda plays a customer trying desperately to get Miyuki to go out with him but he's too boring to make an impact on her. His attempts at realizing love are face to face but his loneliness prevents him from catching a clue. Both characters serve as juxtaposition to Miyuki and highlight my favorite theme of the film: loneliness. Kyoko has a very active social life but seems unfulfilled and lost. Miyuki (contrary to most observations on the film) doesn't seem lonely. She seems content and happy with her life. That's what makes her interesting. Director Hiroki gives her the respect she deserves.Tokyo Trash Baby is part of the Love Cinema series of six straight-to-video releases which also includes Takashi Miike's Visitor Q. It's a low-budget affair shot on Digital Video. It's uses all natural lighting and sometimes the glare from an open window distracts but never gets in the way. It's testament to the strength of the story and performance that technical limitations do not derail the project at all.★★★★★

When describing Tokyo Trash Baby, the words "weird", "gross" and "disturbing" come to mind. There are definitely a few problems with this film....For one, the English subtitles are horrendous containing many grammatical errors and misspelled words which get a little annoying after a while. Second, there are a few long and meaningless shots that go on forever and serve no purpose other than to suggest that the movie is more artistic than it really is. And lastly, the whole production of the film had that cheap quality to it mainly because of the low budget camera they were using. With all that said, I still really enjoyed this movie. I was engrossed the whole time watching it and for some odd reason, really started to care about the main character towards the end of the film. Also noteworthy is the strange music and the eerie mood that was established throughout. I know that the majority will absolutely loathe Tokyo Trash Baby, but if you're a little peculiar yourself and have the patience, then this movie is certainly recommended.

This was a surprise to me, since I usually watch (hardcore) Japanese horror movies. The fact that I'm very interested in learning Japanese also helped a lot with this particular kind of movie, since most horror movies use a lot of slang, that much I can recognize. It was also interesting to see that *SPOILER* once the girl was involved with the guy she was in love with, she wasn't all too interested anymore (maybe because he told her she wasn't all that good in bed after they slept with each other?), whereas with the persistent guy she pushed off time and time again, she seemed to be more receptive and satisfied.*END SPOILER* All in all, Tokyo Garbage Girl is a pretty interesting character study of an obsessed woman who doesn't seem to be sure what she really wants.