Tokyo Tribe

Adapted from a graphic novel series, Japanese cult director Sion Sono's Tokyo Tribe is a gang war thriller set in an alternate future as a hip-hopera musical. It opens with a rapping narrator delivering exposition on a busy, stylized studio street set—Tokyo, divided into districts run by different gangs in a wary state of détente—and never leaves the perpetual night of this studio-created city. Each gang sports its own tribal look and has its own district but the peace is broken when a Yakuza-like faction led by the bloodthirsty and perverted Lord Buppa (played by cult actor Riki Takeuchi) decides to wipe out every other gang and take over Tokyo for himself and his decadent son (who forces captives to serve as living furniture). Also on hand are a beat-boxing personal servant, a pair of kung-fu siblings, references to Scarface, Bruce Lee, and Kill Bill, and the most literal use of penis envy as motivation I've ever witnessed in a film. Packed with movement and color, Tokyo Tribe is a big, busy mess that is more overwhelming than thrilling or engaging, featuring extreme violence and purely gratuitous nudity. Which is not to say that it isn't often entertaining—it is. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)