Melancholic (2018) [Film Review]

Melancholic; or, The Bathhouse Job
     Let me ask you this. A Tokyo University graduate has to work at a big company and become happy?
The bathhouse setting appears frequently in Japanese movies. From Departures (2008) to Attamara Sento (2016), the significance of communal bath in Japanese culture is always emphasised. It is not only a place where one can take care of personal hygiene but also can experience physical proximity which, in theory, should influence emotional intimacy. Director Seiji Tanaka turns the symbolism of a bathhouse on its head in his outstanding debut feature called Melancholic (2018).

Release Info

Directed by: Seiji Tanaka Starring: Yoji Minagawa, Yoshitomo Isozaki, Mebuki Yoshida

Language: Japanese Original Title: メランコリック Runtime: 113 min

Synopsis
Kazuhiko Nabeoka (Yoji Minagawa) is a Tokyo University graduate who spends his days at home with parents. One day, he meets a high school colleague, Yuri (Mebuki Yoshida), at a local bathhouse. The girl, eager to see Kazuhiko more often, encourages him to apply for a job at the bathhouse. After an interview with the owner, Azuma (Makoto Hada), Kazuhiko gets the cleaning job together with another newcomer, Matsumoto (Yoshitomo Isozaki). Much to his surprise, Kazuhiko discovers that the bathhouse is used by the yakuza to execute people…

Stand By Me
The title of the film indeed reflects the personality of the main character. Kazuhiko is yet another by-product of the modern educational system, a person who does not know what to do in life. Consequently, director Seiji Tanaka turns Melancholic into a crazy coming-of-age tale in which a young man orientates himself towards a certain activity, yet this “activity” is actually cleaning the bathhouse from corpses.

The professional misadventures of Kazuhiko are yet another ingenious aspect of Melancholic. The dark comedy works extremely well and mixes effortlessly with the classic yakuza-centered thriller vibes. I really do not want to get into any spoilers, so let me say in the simplest terms possible that the film has major plot twists and really goes off the rails in the finale. Interestingly, even secondary characters receive strong character development in the third act!

With regard to performances, in my opinion, Yoji Minagawa did very well in the leading role, but the real star of the picture is Yoshitomo Isozaki as Matsumoto. He portrays his characters in an incredibly comic yet tragic manner. Additional shout out goes to the rest of the cast: Mebuki Yoshida as Kazuhiko’s quirky girlfriend, Makoto Hada as the stressed-out bathhouse owner, Yasuyuki Hamada as the mysterious Koreda, Masanobu Yata as the scary yakuza mobster, and (last but least) Stefanie Arianne as Angela, the mobster’s gaijin girl.

All things considered, I think it’s safe to conclude that the main theme of Melancholic is that of the everlasting generational conflict within Japanese society. Similarly to Masato Harada’s Kamikaze Taxi (1995) and SABU’s Postman Blues (1997), Melancholic also presents the viewers with a group of a young people who want to change their lives for the better, but the grumpy old-timers, who love the status quo, prevent them from doing so.

Recommendations
In spite of winning numerous awards at film festivals, including Best Director at Tokyo Film Festivals and Audience Award at Nippon Connection, I wish this movie could get greater exposure in the West. Thankfully, Third Window Films released Melancholic in dual format (Blu-Ray and DVD). Their region B edition includes a look at behind the scenes, Q&A with director and cast, Melancholic short film, and trailer. Overall score: 8/10

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