Adrift in Tokyo

B+

Directed by Satoshi Miki

Satoshi Miki’s “Adrift in Tokyo” takes an odd premise and makes it work thanks to breezy humor and the charisma of its two male leads.

Fumiya (Jo Odagiri) is a university student woefully behind on some debts owed to local loan shark Fukuhara (Tomokazu Miura). Seemingly without reason, however, Fukuhara promises to forgive Fumiya’s debts if he’ll take a walk with him through Tokyo to the city’s main police station where he plans to turn himself in.

I'd heard plenty of good things about "Adrift in Tokyo" while it was doing the tour of the festival circuit a few years ago and came away quite satisfied with Miki's offering. "Adrift in Tokyo" hits viewers with a rapid fire of absurd situational humor, some of which works, some of which doesn’t but I found myself laughing out loud at a lot of Miki’s sly gags enough that I gladly overlooked the set pieces that didn't work so well. Any film that tries to throw so much comedic material at its audience is bound to be hit or miss anyways and “Adrift in Tokyo” hits more often that it misses overall and for that, I salute it.

“Adrift in Tokyo ” tries to work at a deeper level as well, reflecting on loss, loneliness, and the importance of family and it does so quite well, mostly because it doesn’t try to go too deep or detract from its comedic raison d'être. There are nevertheless still some poignant moments and Miki’s choice to take a ponderous approach to exploring some weightier themes goes over very well, keeping the proceedings light but still tinged with a wee bit of melancholy. The rapport built between Odagiri and Miura is also surprisingly believable, giving the absurd opening premise some much needed credibility as the film moves forward, even though the father/son motif of their relationship is pushed a bit too far by Miki.

The Tokyo Fumiya and Fukuhara drift around in is, of course, a defining aspect of Miki’s film. Rather than showing the bright lights and big skyscrapers of Shinjuku or Ginza Miki sends his characters walking through the back alleys and tree lined side streets of Japan ’s mega-city. The uniqueness and charm of Tokyo comes through quite well but for audiences who only know the city through movies, it’s a welcome change and an introduction to another side of the city that isn’t seen as often.