A thought-provoking, authentic queer love story set in contemporary Tokyo that transcends clichés and stereotypes…
Premiering in Europe at the 25th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy and competing for the Mulberry Award for Best Screenplay, Egoist (2022), the latest film of Daishi Matsunaga, is a tender love story of two men set in contemporary Tokyo. An adaptation of the eponymous semi-autobiographical novel by Makoto Takayama, the picture sparks with its realism, authenticity, strong acting, and a firm grasp of its main theme.
Kosuke (Ryohei Suzuki) is a successful fashion magazine editor in his mid-30s who enjoys his luxurious lifestyle to the fullest – he lives in a minimalistic modern flat, has an array of expensive clothes, and fixes his eyebrows relentlessly, even in times of pain and desperation. Losing his mother at an early age and being more or less estranged from his father in the countryside, Kosuke now spends most of his spare time with his gay friends. He is also interested in getting back in shape, so he decides to hire a personal trainer, Ryuta (Hio Miyazawa), whom he seemingly fancies a lot. Soon, they confess their feelings to each other and start dating. Nevertheless, all is not well in paradise – it turns out that Ryuta has been turning tricks for ages to support himself and his mother, Taeko (Sawako Agawa). Kosuke insists that they keep on seeing each other and offers Ryuta to pay him a monthly allowance; this sustains the relationship, and the two of them seem genuinely happy with each other. This happiness is soon marred by an abrupt and severe irreversible event, which ultimately brings Kosuke and Taeko close to each other.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Matsunaga has previously worked on documentary and queer films, such as his debut Pyuupiru 2001–2008 (2011), which portrays an introspection of all the changes in the life of the eponymous Japanese transgender artist. Egoist uses a couple of documentary approaches to shed fuller light on the character of Kosuke, such as retrospection, internal dialogue, and various social interactions. Suzuki’s performance is exuberantly zesty – he presents all the aspects of the multifaceted personality of Kosuke masterfully, from his relatively high self-esteem and occasional vanity to his gallant politeness and deep respectfulness. Conversely, the character of Ryuta could have been developed somewhat further; this is especially noticeable when it comes to the implications of the financial disparity and the transactional aspect of the relationship between him and Kosuke. Nevertheless, Miyazawa also delivers a great performance and feels like an equal to Suzuki at all times. One of the strongest points of the film lies in its depiction of grief and loss, and the notion that they can bring even unrelated people closer to each other, sometimes even to the extent that they become part of the family.
Egoist’s title is ambiguous – on the one hand, the connotation of the word is undeniably negative; on the other, however, no character in the film is a clear-cut egoist. Growing up without a mother and seeing how close Ryuta is to Taeko, Kosuke feels the urge to help them financially. While this is an undisputed act of benevolence, the important question here is, whether and to what extent this is done out of pure altruism or a sense of egoism, so that he feels better about himself. The film can thus serve as an excellent conversation starter which can span over multiple provocative topics. Among them is certainly the current state of queer people in Japan – considering that the film briefly points out that same-sex marriages are still illegal, that its main cast is straight (or in the closet), and that Fumio Kishida, Japan’s Prime Minister, recently mentioned that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is not discriminatory. A brave picture that does not shy away from themes that are still conveniently swept under the rug by many in Japan, Egoist should be on the radar of anyone who values justice, true love, and protection of the rights of minorities and marginalized groups.