Tokyo Godfathers

Tokyo Godfathers is a wonderful feelgood movie that is perfect for everyone to enjoy. My daughter and I watched it together and we both laughed and cried our way through. The story is simple - three homeless characters who constantly bicker and get on each others nerves yet somehow form a friendship that keeps them alive on the rough cold streets of Tokyo. One day they discover an abandoned baby and they go on an adventure trying to find its mother.

The baby is discovered on Christmas Day and as the three characters peer over the edge of some rubbish boxes to look at the crying baby, the scene does remind me of a nativity play and the three wise men and also the film Three Men and A Baby. Except in this case, it is one man, one trans woman, one teenage girl and a baby.

Tokyo Godfather is an adventure comedy with plenty of laughs but as the story unfolds we learn more about the backgrounds to each of the three characters and their personal demons. This portrayal of human melancholy is where the film is at its strongest. There's also a bit of a plot twist that I won't give away but it adds to the drama in the last third of the film.

Of the three homeless characters I found Hana to be the most interesting. Hana is a trans woman who formerly worked at a cabaret nightclub, she was so devastated when her partner died that she left her work and home and turned to the streets. At first I was a bit put off by way the writers seem to have simply used Hana as a vessel for pumping out stereotypical gay/trans jokes and cheap laughs. But there's huge warmth and tenderness to her character too as she shows a deep love and concern for the baby and fellow vagabonds. She also seems to be suffering from a chronic illness the exact nature of which isn't divulged in the film. There's one extraordinary scene where Hana rants at her fellow homeless friend Gin as she discovers he has lied about his past life. Gin's quip after being fully blasted by Hana had me in hysterics. Perfect comedy timing through the medium of subtitles. (I learned more about the treatment of Hana in this article here.)

Speaking of subtitles, one slightly annoying detail - there is a small scene involving a Hispanic character who only speaks Spanish. There are no subtitles to this dialogue. My guess is that this was intentional - we are seeing him through the eyes of the Japanese character who does not understand what he is saying.

This film was made in 2003 and the animation quality, which I assume is traditional hand drawn, is absolutely stunning. Each of the characters are depicted with a lot of detail -  enough to pick out nuances of facial expression and emotion. The way light and shade is portrayed perfectly sums up the cityscape at night time - especially the more sinister areas of dark alleys and abandoned buildings.

Tokyo Godfathers will warm your heart and bring a slight tear to your eye. It's a story that lifts the lid on a darker side of human nature but there is a light on the other side thanks to three very unlikely heroes.

9/10

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