Her
name is Alice, which might be significant. Instead of Wonderland, she will be
plunging a netherworld ruled by a sinister yōkai. However, the gravest forms of
peril are the human kind in Caspar Seale-Jones’s To Tokyo, which screens today during this year’s Winter Film Awards.
Alice
is not making the most of her time in Japan. Clearly suffering from deep,
compounded trauma, she has effectively barricaded herself inside her small
provincial hotel room. Yet, somehow, she manages to roust herself to briefly
meet her half-sister Zoe at the station. Unfortunately, the half-sibling has
come to implore Alice to return home before her ailing mother’s imminent death.
The freshly prompted memories of home, particularly of her abusive step-father,
will trigger Alice’s descent into a strange fantasy world.
Whether
it is real (in a supernatural sense) or merely the projection of her fevered
mind is a matter for each viewer’s interpretation. Regardless, this
fantasyscape does not appear very Japanese, despite being ruled over by a yōkai
lord. In fact, the yurts and steppe backdrops look Himalayan or Central Asian.
It is a harsh environment, with little sustenance, but it might ironically be
safer than Tokyo, where a suspicious westerner is eager to get reacquainted with
Alice, after their chance encounter in the village.
To Tokyo might well be the sort
of film that works better as a short than an extended feature. Even at
seventy-five minutes, it often feels like it is belaboring the point. This is
definitely supposed to be a deliberate mood piece, but it often feels slower
than it should. Nevertheless, the technical craftsmanship is quite impressive. Cinematographer
Ralph Messer lenses some striking images, dramatically utilizing the full
frame. Editors Ashley Smith and Joseph Tims also cut his visuals together in
quite a striking way.
Admittedly,
Alice’s mental and physical health are supposed to be in a rather anemic state,
but Florence Kosky is such a wispy, passive leading lady, she looks like she
could blow away in a moderately strong wind. Likewise, Seale-Jones’s narrative
is similarly thin and under-nourished. Frankly, this film will make viewers
want to buy it a bowl of chicken soup.
In
this case, a little more could have been a lot more. We can see what
Seale-Jones is getting at. Clearly, the Japanese setting is not a mistake.
Seale-Jones is definitely channeling traditional Kwaidan-esque supernatural folklore, as well as the overwhelming
(and dehumanizing) ambiance of Shinjuku. This could have been something like a
cross between Lost in Translation and
Black Orpheus (without the
soundtrack), but it should have had greater discipline. An intriguing first
attempt at something, but not for general audiences, To Tokyo screens today (2/18) at the Cinema Village, as part of this
year’s Winter Film Awards.
