19 (2000)

A young university student Usami riding his bicycle is kidnapped by a trio of twenty-something punks in a car. He is quite literally grabbed off his bike and thrown into the back seat. Usami tries to escape when he asks to go and urinate but he is quickly recaptured. Adjusting to the situation, he is taken on a ride with the trio where they start stealing stuff from shops, eat at a restaurant, visit a zoo and head to the beach. As Usami spends more time with the trio, he is gradually accepted as being one of them. Usami doesn’t want to escape from them anymore and he is even prepared to help them when they target another individual for kidnapping. However Usami’s world is about to turn dark when the newest hostage turns violent………..

This is a unique and offbeat black comedy road-trip with the director also taking part as one of the leading actors in the production. Kazushi Watanabe who made his debut as a director in the movie has apparently based the story on actual events. If that wasn’t enough for him he also wrote the screenplay. It’s a tale of a group of disillusioned young people on the fringes of society who drive around doing whatever they please. The story which shows Usami’s kidnapping to acceptance in being with the group and ultimately being dumped by them is interesting and never boring. Things do go decidedly darker when the group arrive on a beach to have fun and Usami’s innocence is taken away from him during a violent scuffle in a car with another hostage which ends in death. This scene comes rather unexpectedly and out of the blue. The ending is also rather abrupt with Usami being left on a road penniless with no idea in the world where he is. What isn’t made very clear is why did the gang pick on Usami – was he just a random target because they were bored or had they been watching him for a while?

There’s an interesting mix of characters in the group. The leader is the only one that really speaks a lot whilst the other two don’t say that much, in fact one of them says nothing during the entire movie. Usami connects to one individual within the group – someone who likes to take a lot of snapshots with his camera. He’s the only one he can ask when he’ll be allowed to go home. The answer he gets isn’t very reassuring! So Usami does what anybody would do – if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. The group dynamics changes yet again when a second hostage, a young man on a beach is taken by them. He’s just minding his own business when he is forced to have a fight with Usami on the beach in which he belts him across the face. The main difference between this young man and Usami is he isn’t prepared to stay with them and uses violence to try and escape. However, even when he knocks out the lead thug, his path to freedom is short lived and he is recaptured. It is then that the turning point of the movie occurs with a shocking and violent incident. Usami’s time with the group comes to an end soon afterwards. Whilst the thugs are quite happy to steal things, intimidate and kidnap people – killing somebody though is something that’s not on their agenda.

Watanabe’s style of subtle comedy does have some similarities to what Takeshi Kitano has been doing over the years. The movie has a bleached out look about it. To some it may seem a little bit amateurish and rough but I liked it. In a way Watanabe’s turn as the head thug of the gang is slightly reminiscent of the character he would portray in Takashi Miike’s Visitor Q. Takeo Noro and Ryo Shinmyo act as his partners in crime. Daijiro Kawaoka is the quiet Usami whilst Masashi Endo plays the polar opposite of him as the aggressive second hostage with no name.

All in all, 19 is a quirky road movie with a difference. It has solid performances by the cast and it was a promising debut by a young director. It’s a shame that Watanabe has only directed 2 more movies since this one and the last one was in 2007.

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5