Hazard

A bored university student in Tokyo decides his life is going nowhere and leaves for New York. There he falls in with two small-time criminals and becomes part of a trio drifting through the city, filling the time with theft and violence. The film is not interested in the dream of America. It is interested in boredom turning into violence: the hero is not looking for anything, he only wants to feel something, and crime provides it. The form is loose and raw: handheld camera, scenes close to improvisation, low light. It was actually shot in New York and uses the local texture in a decidedly untouristic way. Sion Sono directed. He would later be known for long, extreme films like Love Exposure and Cold Fish; the work here is smaller, looser and close to a youth diary. Joe Odagiri takes the lead. Who it is for: viewers curious about early Sono and about films of aimless youth. Who it is not for: anyone looking for structure. The film is deliberately scattered, the links between scenes are weak, and the ending offers no resolution.