Created by Shōichi Maruyama & Yûsaku Matsuda
In Yokohama BJ Blues, a 1981 Neo-noir set in, well, Yokohama, Japan, shaggy-haired struggling blues singer and part-time private eye BJ is working a missing persons case, hunting for a lost boy, to make ends meet when his best friend, a cop, is murdered. And if that isn’t bad enough, it turns out BJ is the number one suspect. So of course he must track down the real killer if he wants to — everybody sing along — clear his name.
Of course it’s not that simple. Along the way, he’s got to avoid the law while tangling with corrupt cops, vicious drug-dealers, assorted hookers and several gay bikers. It’s directed by acclaimed Samurai movie vet Eichii Kudo (The Fort of Death), and more than one critic has noted the similarities (at least in spirit) to Robert Altman‘s take on Chandler’s The Long Goodbye.
This is actually a bit of a lost gem, a quirky, slow burn take on the Shamus Game, and the plot skitters all over the place, but the grungy Yokohama setting, where the sun rarely shines, pumps some welcome air into the film. Sure, there are plenty of the expected dive bars, dingy apartments and seedy characters, and no shortage of cheesy eighties neon decadence, but they’re given new life, filtered through the noir lens of cinematographer Seizō Sengen.
And BJ, played by Yûsaku Matsuda, is just fun to watch, all deadpan cool wrapped up in his long coat and scarf, in desperate need of some grooming, a cigarette jammed into his maw, stalking the mean streets of his ravaged hometown in search of.. what?
Clues? Redemption? Salvation? A barber? Who knows?
But Matsuda (as BJ) signs his own songs, and swear-to-God he’s not bad.
UNDER OATH
- “Yokohama BJ Blues is a film that I’m sure will speak to a niche audience in its specificity, but it also feels like Kudo cared more about the Altman part than the detective part.”
— Genre Grinder -
“Just received the film on Friday and have watched it. Definitely interesting. BJ is a somewhat down and out P.l. And a blues singer. The songs are pretty good. Although sung in Japanese. All the tropes are there. Best buddy get killed, the cops try to pin it on him, cop’s wife is his ex-girlfriend. There are prostitutes , gay bikers, gangsters, a drug deal. The necessary convoluted script. It’s all there. But pretty much everything makes sense in the end. You and any diehard P.I. fan will recognize the main plot. I enjoyed it but I did figure it all out.”
— Jeff the Tire Guy
FILMS
YOKOHAMA BJ BLUES | Buy the Blu-Ray | Watch it now!
(1981, Central Arts/ Toei Films)
1 hour, 52 minutes
Language: Japanese
Based on an idea by Yûsaku Matsuda
Screenplay by Shōichi Maruyama
Directed by Yûsaku Matsuda
Cinematography by Seizō Sengen
Starring Yūsaku Matsuda as BJ
Also starring Mari Henmi, Keizō Kanie, Toby Kadoguchi, Haruko Mabuchi, Koji Tanaka, Tatsuo Yamada, Eri Kanuma, Rei Okamoto, Rikiya Yasuoka, Yuya Uchida, Ryudo Uzaki, Ichirō Zaitsu, Hiroshi Shimizu, Taiji Tonoyama, Michihiro Yamanishi, Toshio Tomogane, Rebun Hori, Yuji Yoshikawa
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Big in Japan
Japanese Eyes
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to Jeff for the heads up.
