Techno Brothers (2023) [Film Review]

Techno Brothers; or, A Musical Oddity
     The greatest musicians of our time. Genius comparable to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Miles Davis and the Beatles! Brothers, yes. Their name? Techno Brothers!
I have already written my thoughts about the 2023 edition of the JFF+ Independent Cinema online streaming event on MyDramaList and also on AsianFilmFans, but I felt like giving more detailed focus to Hirobumi Watanabe’s film that was a part of this year’s lineup. That is to say, I would like to talk about Techno Brothers that had the official premiere last July.

Release Info

Directed by: Hirobumi Watanabe Starring: Asuna Yanagi, Hirobumi Watanabe, Yuji Watanabe, Takanori Kurosaki

Language: Japanese Original Title: テクノブラザーズ Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis
In the town of Otawara, a mysterious figure known as “the Boss” and her interpreter send the Techno Brothers band and their insensitive manager Himuro (Asuna Yanagi) to Tokyo, so they could strike a deal with a record label and become famous. The group embarks on a difficult journey through which they struggle to gain money so as to stay alive.

On the Road Again
The main reason as to why I decided to focus on Techno Brothers was mixed reception of the film across the internet. On MDL, there is a negative opinion which calls the film straight up boring, some viewers on letterboxd just can’t get their heads around the long-ish music sequences, whereas Japan Times gave the film a fairly positive review, but called the concept “the Yellow Magic Orchestra minus the charisma” (source).

Well, I went in for the music... and basically stayed for the music. Some people may regard the music aspect as creative stalling for the sake of not telling the story, but I believe the purpose of Techno Brothers is primarily to bring back the good old beats of Kraftwerk (even their overall appearance is similar). As a result, making an association between legendary YMO and fictional Techno Brothers is essentially doing a disservice to YMO.

The comedy in the film is very good, but could have been played out better in certain scenes. This movie feels like an homage to The Blues Brothers (1980), and it essentially takes the road film premise from its source picture. Whereas The Blues Brothers strived to be a musical, Techno Brothers desires to be a music-driven film.

What I mean is that you never get the sense that you are watching a complete story. Techno Brothers is a series of funny vignettes crosscut with music sequences. It tries to be as witty as Kitano's Kikujiro while remixing the ambience of Aki Kaurismäki’s Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989), but without the emotional drama.

With regard to performances, Techno Brothers themselves (Hirobumi Watanabe, Yuji Watanabe, Takanori Kurosaki) obviously try to replicate the emotion-less aura of Elwood Blues and Jake Blues. Interesting addition is Asuna Yanagi as the manager because the vanity of her character really elicits a lot of humour in the film.

By the end, you get the sense "Is it the end already?!" Rest assured, the post-credits scene hits you with a lead-in to a sequel. This musical comedy film marks the 10th anniversary of the filmmaking collective “Foolish Piggies Films”, led by director Hirobumi Watanabe and his brother, film composer Yuji Watanabe, based in Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture.

Recommendations
All things considered, do I recommend this film? Ultimately, yes. If you view Techno Brothers purely as an instance of independent filmmaking, then it is a very good film that strikes the similar feels of a musical comedy you know already. I must say I look forward to the sequel and the movie actually got me interested in the previous endeavours of director Hirobumi Watanabe. Overall score: 7/10

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