Tokyo Melody (1985) [Documentary Review]

Tokyo Melody; or, Multicoloured Polyphonia
     I’m working on things that will only be understood by the grand-children of the 20th century ~ Claude Debussy
Recently, while doing research on City Pop/Kayokyoku for a special project, I stumbled upon a French-Japanese documentary directed by photographer Elizabeth Lennard called Tokyo Melody, un film sur Ryuichi Sakamoto. I was aware of the fact that there were documentary features made about the legendary composer, but I did not know this particular one, which was released in 1985, so at the height of Pop music in Japan and YMO’s popularity.

Release Info

Directed by: Elizabeth Lennard Starring: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano, Yukihiro Takahashi

Language: Japanese, French Runtime: 62 min

In Search of Perfection
The documentary is not so much about the life of Sakamoto and his rise to stardom, but about his working process. In a truly idiosyncratic way, Sakamoto exposes himself in front of a camera and talks about his inspirations, interests, perception of music as well as of time. These confessions coupled with his instrumental pieces, YMO archive footage, and the hustle and bustle of 80s Tokyo really elicit an eclectic viewing experience.

What is more interesting, we actually see Sakamoto at a recording studio during his work on the album Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (1984). The composer demonstrates his gear and also explains the convoluted technicalities behind the high-tech equipment. To my mind, the Fairlight CMI synthesizer seems more advanced than modern-day instruments, but I am not an expert at all.

In addition, Sakamoto’s experience with Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983) is addressed. It is a real treat because the composer rarely talks about the film. In the case of this documentary, he does not even mention his onscreen performance, but he explains his creative process with regard to the music score. I also wrote about this in greater detail in my stand-alone editorial Confessions in the Jungle: Comparing The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983).

Apart from this, there is an interesting segment in which we see Sakamoto and his wife Akiko Yano performing Tong Poo, which is intercut with Yellow Magic Orchestra’s live version of the piece recorded for YMO Propaganda film. This is a very intriguing juxtaposition of the two interpretations of the same song, which reflects Sakamoto’s own balance over the threshold between classical and pop music. The composer himself says in the documentary that he chose pop music to reach a wider audience.

All things considered, Tokyo Melody is not only an introspective look into Ryuichi Sakamoto, but also an attempt to see the world through his lens. It is a highly engaging documentary indeed, but I would appreciate it had there been some personal input from people close to Sakamoto, such as Akiko Yano or Yukihiro Takahashi.

Recommendations
If you are a fan of Ryuichi Sakamoto, then this documentary is certainly for you. If you are a die-hard fan of YMO, then you will only be able to see some archive footage of their performances. I sincerely hope that the documentary will get picked up by a distribution label and properly remastered.

Overall score: 9/10

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