What the Hell is this? Where’s the commentary about drug-induced nihilism and the overwhelming indifference of today’s youth? This River’s Edge is an actual movie, not a social condemnation. What fun is that? It’s like discovering Heathers has been remade as an episode of “Saved by the Bell.”
OK, after that knee-jerk reaction, I did some research. Despite having the exact same title, and both films being about outcast teens and a corpse left for dead by the river, the 1986 American version of River’s Edge starring Crispin Glover and Keanu Reeves is not derived from the same source material as the 2018 Japanese version. That’s insane, right? Yes, that’s insane. Forget Heathers; this is like making a film called Hunger Games set in a dystopian future where children kill one another that is somehow not based on the Suzanne Collins novel. I’m sorry, new River’s, that’s gonna cost ya.
There are no shortage of distinctions that make one believe the source material is the same – no, the 1986 film didn’t open with a teenage boy, Ichiro (Ryô Yoshizawa), stripped naked, tied up, and left for dead in a warehouse … but it kinda fits the general nihilism theme, don’t it? Our heroine, for lack of a better term, a loner girl named Haruna (Fumi Nikaidô), rescues him upon discovering what’s what. The next day, she has some choice words for Ichiro’s abductor. Careful; that almost amounts to a scolding.
As with the American version, there’s not a small amount of unprovoked violence along this River’s Edge. One bit we don’t see is whatever happened to the dead body Ichiro –and only Ichiro- knows about lying hidden within the tall reeds at the River’s Edge of a sludge factory. Also, as in the American version, it’s tough to see the motives behind the social currency that comes with the knowledge of the corpse. All we really know is it seems to be Ichiro’s secret … and it’s not the only one he’s keeping. He doesn’t even let his girlfriend in on it. Is Haruda going to take her place? Or does she like the boy who leaves Ichiro for dead from time-to-time?
This River’s Edge amounts to something between a coming-of-age teen flick and a dark comedy. The comedy doesn’t work very well, but the characters are honest. There’s just enough, “GOOD LORD, MAN! Why did you do that?” to justify the attention of somebody looking for a remake of the startling and raw cult takedown of American teendom; but there isn’t much more than that to this film. And now I’m curious if the 1990 manga this thing is lifted from the American picture. Not that it doesn’t have the right – American’s remake Japanese stuff, especially horror, all the time – often poorly. But this Japanese River’s Edge feels like that party game “telephone” with about fifty people in between the start and finish, most of them drunk. Some of the key elements remain, but the focus of the picture couldn’t be more different – and the result is worse.
At River’s Edge, the kids are out for a smoocher
They don’t know ‘bout the corpse with the suture
It’s a tale of sin
That once starred Crispin
I’d say they failed to go Back to the Future
Rated R, 118 Minutes
Director: Isao Yukisada
Writer: Misaki Setoyama
Genre: Cashing in on … nostalgia of soullessness ?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Outcaste teens
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Film historians looking for
