Fantastic Fest 09: K-20 LEGEND OF THE MASK Review
[Our thanks to James Marsh for the following review, which originally appeared when the film screened at the New York Asian Film Festival.]
K-20: Legend of the Mask takes place in a Japan that does not exist. World War II has been avoided, and in 1949, the nation's capital Teito is a vibrant mix of ostentatious skyscrapers and dilapidated slums, where the divided class system of the Meiji era thrives, creating an insurmountable divide between the nobility and the serfs. However, the upper classes are being terrorized by a charismatic, yet elusive art thief, known as the Fiend with Twenty Faces, or simply K-20. A mysterious Robin Hood type figure, who the common folk adore and the elite fear and pursue, led by detective Kogoro Akechi (Nakamura Toro).
Endo Heikichi (Takeshi Kaneshiro) draws his own crowds of adoring fans. A brilliant circus acrobat and magician, his feats of daring-do offer delight and escape to those otherwise struggling to make ends meet. His unique skills are spotted by a mysterious newspaper man who hires Heikichi to sneak into Akechi's celebrity wedding to Duchess Yoko (Matsu Takako) and take photos. However, it all proves to be an elaborate set-up, and the authorities mistake Heikichi for K-20 and he is forced into hiding. When "Wanted" posters are pasted all over the city proclaiming him to be K-20, Heikichi decides to step up to the plate, assume the mantle the authorities have given him, and become K-20 in order to flush the real criminal out into the open.
Based on characters originally created by famed crime writer Rampo Edogawa, K-20 takes its premise from a controversial re-working of the story by playwright Kitamura Soh, published in 1989. The tussles between Akechi and The Fiend have been a source of adolescent escapism in Japan for decades and much of that classic tone of high adventure makes it into the finished film.
As has come to be expected in recent years, Takeshi Kaneshiro makes for a dashing and charismatic lead, oozing virtue and honesty, coupled with an authoritative sense of purposefulness. He is fast-becoming one of Asia's most bankable stars, skipping from Japan, to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan and yet to put a serious foot wrong. K-20 could prove to be a serious commercial hit internationally, with Kaneshiro as the stand-alone lead, as it mixes romance and adventure within a retro-futuristic environment that should help garner attention overseas.
Shirogumi, the same visual effects house that created the dazzling 1950s Tokyo for Always - Sunset on Third Street, brings the design of the film to life. This fictional city of booming enterprise, dominated by Manhattan-style skyscrapers encircled by shuddering whirlybirds is part Fritz Lang's Metropolis and part the Gotham City of Anton Furst. There are elements of Kerry Conran's Sky Captain in the film, but also moments that remind you of Terry Gilliam's Brazil and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. After all, an element of magic is never far away when dealing with a master of disguise like K-20. The film also contains some excellent stunt work, with Heikichi and K-20 both using "parkour" or "free running" techniques to scramble over buildings and elude the police.
Heikichi goes into hiding with his former circus colleagues and support him after he takes on his dual identity. Ably supported by Genji, the circus' former prop maker, who provides Heikichi with the gadgets and hardware he will need to become a master thief. Kunimura Jun brings a touch of veteran class to the role, as does Takashima Reiko as Genji's wife, Kikuko.
The tone is kept light throughout, even when dealing with serious topics like poverty and class structure, blending superhero influences, particularly Batman, with the likes of Zorro and Indiana Jones, but given a distinctly Asian twist. If this first outing does well there is enough material to set up a successful franchise that could run and run, and potentially allow Kaneshiro to break out onto a global stage where he truly belongs.
Review by James Marsh.
