THE RED SPECTACLES – Review by Diane Carson
The Red Spectacles imagines a mind-bending, dystopian future
For those uninitiated into Japanese artist Mamoru Oshii’s Kerberos Saga, The Red Spectacles (1987) packs quite a jolt. Opening titles announce that at the conclusion of the twentieth century, “to combat the rapid rise in urban crime and its increasing violence, the Metropolitan Police Dept established the ‘Special Armed Task Force Against Violent Crimes’ unit.” On screen background continues, “Armed with specially reinforced suits and heavy weaponry, they came to be known as ‘Kerberos: Watchdogs of Hell,’ and began their bold challenge against the criminal world. However, their actions were so severe in their hatred toward evil, that their ruthless investigative activities drew public criticism. The organization had no choice, but to be dismantled when a petty criminal was beaten to death by a member of the Special Investigation Unit.”
Rushing on from this context, in the opening scene, three Kerberos fighters flaunting serious machine guns flee in their armored vehicle to the Port of Tokyo. Moments later, amidst a barrage of bullets, flailing bodies, and exploding blood squibs, at least two dozen bounty hunters lie dead, two of the Kerberos members—Midori (Machiko Washio) and Toribe (Hideyuki Tanaka)—wounded. Only Kōichi (Shigeru Chiba, in his first star turn) can escape via their scheduled helicopter. Only minutes have passed and The Red Spectacles has announced its riotous, genre-bending approach to what will become a science-fiction multimedia package, both prequels and sequels via radio programs (this film coming a month after the first radio installment), novels, and manga. Breaking stylistic coherence, primarily in black-and-white (even though ironically titled The Red Spectacles), color makes its only appearance most dramatically in the opening and final minutes. In addition, slapstick merges with surreal moments, film noir yields to dreams, reference to the solemn Greek myth’s three-headed dog Cerberus that guard’s the underworld preventing the dead to escape (invoked in the unit’s name but never appearing as a figure) is juxtaposed with ludicrous slapstick. In other words, abandon customary expectations for a wildly inventive dystopian world.
Returning to a semblance of Tokyo three years after the introductory shootout, Kōichi yearns to visit a stand-up soba noodle shop, only to learn, to his complete dismay, that they have become illegal (yes, this is one of the main plot threads). In one scene a grinning man shoots film throughout the action, dolly shots (those with the camera on a moving platform) appearing in full view (no hiding the fictional production details), and fast forward action exists with animation. Kōichi wears black glasses day or night, in a vacant movie theater, and on dark streets. Throughout, Midori’s memory haunts Kōichi and dominates several scenes. In that regard, director Oshii favors cinematographer Yousuke Mamiya’s compositions with two characters facing opposite directions as they talk. Unquestionably, mixing truth and illusion, allegory and social critique, Oshii creates a mind-bending two hours.
In his director’s statement, 38 years from The Red Spectacles’ initial release, Oshii notes that, though appearing “to be a black-and-white film with a few sequences in color, it is actually a fully color-printed film created from black-and-white negatives, except for the beginning and end of the film.” Most significant for his first live-action effort after only two anime projects, Oshii asks, “What exactly is a ‘film’ in the first place? . . . The truth is, I still don’t really know. I direct films without understanding—without conviction or foundation. It’s precisely because I don’t understand that I continue to make them.” And that’s why watching Oshii’s film is so mesmerizing and exhilarating. With literally mounds of dead bodies, explosive and loud violence, plus numerous illogical twists and turns, The Red Spectacles upends convention. It’s a wonderfully outrageous ride, not for anyone wanting predictable or meditative fare. With a beautiful 4K restoration, in Japanese with English subtitles.
