arts // no. 8

Christmas on
the streets

» ‘Tokyo Godfathers’ review

Adam Tatelman
Staff Writer

C0008

guess I can officially call myself : :
a Satoshi Kon fan, considering :
: providence. These chance

: meetings and near misses may

: seem convenient, but that’s the

: point: like in The Blues Brothers,
: we're left to decide if the trio are
: really ona mission from God or

: just incredibly lucky. It’s mostly

: used asa comedic device to call

: attention to the ongoing identity
: crisis of the Christmas holiday

: itself, both a secular institution

: anda religious tradition.

ve reviewed three of his four
films in as many weeks.

Kon’s third film, Tokyo
Godfathers, is an odd little
duck. The plot is based
on the John Wayne classic
Three Godfathers, casting
the trio of bandits instead as
desperate street people. Gin, a
depressed alcoholic; Miyuki, a
teenage runaway; and Hana, a
transsexual drag queen; happen
upon a baby abandoned ina
dumpster on Christmas Eve of
all nights. Forced into the roles
of surrogate father, mother,
and sister, the three decide to
locate the baby’s parents.

Taking place from
Christmas Eve to the end of

Christmas Day, the film explores :
: film from feeling like holiday

: treacle. It is brave enough to

: show the conditions many suffer
: on the supposed happiest day

: of the year, yet it never wallows

: in despair. The real Christmas

: spirit of the show is its optimism
: in the darkest of times.

the strained relationship
between the three bums as
they dodge street punks,
Yakuza hitmen, and unpayable
hospital bills. In the process,
each of the three is given a
chance to confront the past
mistakes that landed them on
the streets. The one thing that
unites them as a dysfunctional
surrogate family is their social
rejection, but it’s shown that
each of them has, ina sense,
made themselves outcasts,
and still has the chance to be
accepted back into the world.

In another unique twist, the :
: culture’s perspective ona

: familiar tradition is a novel idea,
: making for thought-provoking

: holiday entertainment with

: an affecting dramatic centre.

film features both Western and
Eastern religious iconography.
The three hobos and the
abandoned child are an obvious
reference to the virgin birth
and the three wise men, and
the baby’s forehead has a mole
resembling Gautama Buddha’s.
The opening act even parallels
the minority population of

 

: Japanese Christians with the
: majority public who celebrate a
secular version of Christmas.

Hana falls into the former
category, believing that God
sent her to protect the child.

: Amusingly, the film is packed
full of strange coincidences
that may or may not be divine

Since this is a Christmas

: movie, there isa happy

: ending. But after watching the

: beleaguered bums constantly

: go out of their way to help other
: unfortunates, it feels earned.

: The characters had to grow in

: order to reach the finale, and

that’s exactly what keeps this

Once again Kon manages

: to highlight the importance

: of animation to the ongoing

: cultural dialogue between

: Japan and North America. It’s

: acommon ground upon which

: to discuss all the philosophical

: ideas that intrigue our respective

cultures. Seeing another

If youre tired of watching

: reruns of A Christmas Story and

: It’s a Wonderful Life, then Tokyo

: Godfathers may be the Christmas
: film you're searching for.

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theotherpress.ca

This season's Christmas
classics and holiday hits

» Local theatres present treasured tales and playful parodies

Christmas e

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
M arts@theotherpress.ca

his December, theatres across Metro

Vancouver invite you to step away from
the holiday reruns on television and come
see Christmas classics live on stage.

 

Sherlock Holmes’
Christmas Goose
December 12-13
Burnaby Village
Museum, Burnaby

Are you in the
mood fora mystery?
The Forte Theatre
Society presents a
Sherlock Holmes tale with a holiday twist.
Based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, this play
follows Sherlock (Gavin LeClaire) and his
assistant Watson (Karissa Ketter) as they try
to solve what happened to a Christmas Goose
and a blue carbuncle. Douglas College theatre
alumni Levi Williams and Adam Tatelman
also star in the production. Admission to

 

 

 

(beth the Village and the show is free.

A

 

  
 

Inspecting Carol |
Until December 19 |e
The Bernie Legge fF
Theatre, Queen’s
Park, New
Westminster

The Vagabond
Players present this charming comedy about
a wannabe actor who gets mistaken for a
National Endowment for the Arts informer
at a local theatre troupe’s production of A
Christmas Carol. The actor is quickly cast in
the production and the group caters to his
every whim because they want to make a good
impression on the so-called informer. Tickets
can be purchased by phone at 604-521-0412 or

 

by email at reservations@vagabondplayers.ca

 

Love Musically
December 16-20
Studio 1398, Granville
Island, Vancouver

Get ready to
share your most
romantic stories with
Off Key Improv’s
musical take on
holiday favourite Love
Actually. Filled with
songs and audience-
inspired content, the show explores love
in Vancouver in its many forms. Each
improvised show promises a new story
with original content and music.
Tickets can be purchased at LoveMusically.
\ BrownPaperTickets.com

1 AN SP

 

lovemusically

 

 

Christmas ‘Preser Loe
Presence

December

13-15, 20-21

Pacific Theatre, OWE Ti 15, 20621 at Pe
Vancouver og dl

Fora simple
production full
of Christmas magic, Pacific Theatre presents
an intimate series of songs and readings. The
artists meet and choose their material on the
day of the performance, so audiences are in
for a surprise. Each show features a different
line-up of artists with new tunes and tales.
Tickets can be purchased at PacificTheatre.org

 

 

 

It’s a Wonderful
Life

Granville Island
Stage, Vancouver
The Arts
Club presents this
festive favourite
about George '
Bailey (Bob Frazer) facing financial woes
and meeting his guardian angel (Bernard
Cuffling}, who shows hima glimpse of a
world without him. Filled with detailed, era-
specific sets and costumes, the play makes
the film come to life, live and in colour.
LF ickets can be purchased at ArtsClub.com

 

 

 

 

A Christmas
Story, the
Musical
Until
December 27
Stanley Theatre
Vancouver

The Arts Club's musical adaptation
of the holiday film follows Ralphie (Valin
Shinyei} as he desperately tries to convince
the adults in his life to get him a BB gun for
Christmas, despite their warnings that he'll
shoot his eye out. This show features several
talented child actors in main roles, all of
whom pour their hearts into the production.
LT ickets can be purchased at ArtsClub.com

 

 

 

 

A Christmas
Carol: On the Air
Until January 2
Pacific Theatre,
Vancouver
Pacific Theatre
takes a unique
approach to this classic Charles Dickens
tale by presenting the story as a 1940s live
radio play. Like being in a live radio studio,
audiences are immersed into the experience of
presenting a vivid radio show to the listening
public about an old miser who's visited
by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. Tickets
(can be purchased at PacificTheatre.org