His Motorbike, Her Island — His Motorbike, Her Island( Blu Ray)
His Motorbike, Her Island is a 1986 romantic drama from director Nobuhiko Obayashi (Hausu, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Labyrinth of Cinema) and based on the 1977 novel by Yoshio Kataoka. The film stars Kiwako Harada (Godzilla Vs King Ghidora, Yuwakusha and Hana’s Miso Soup), Noriko Watanabe (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S. and Tsumiki kuzushi), Riki Takeuchi (Dead or Alive, Battle Royale II: Requiem and Blood), Ryoichi Takayanagi (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Legend of the Eight Samurai and Bullet Train Explosion) and Takahiro Tamura (Tora! Tora! Tora!, Hoodlum Soldier and Seisaku’s Wife).
Koh Hashimoto (played by Takeuchi in his first movie role) is a biker who delivers copy for a news agency on a part-time basis. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Fuyumi Sawada (Watanabe) because all she does is cry and cook, he ends up taking part in a motorcycle jousting duel with her brother, Hidemasa (Tomokazu Miura) which Koh ends up winning. Soon after Koh bumps into a beautiful young woman, Miyoko (Harada), who has previously taken photos of him and his motorbike, he gives her a ride on his bike to the inn at which she is staying. They stay in touch, and when Miyoko sends him a letter and some photographs of their time together, she invites him to come and stay on the island where she lives. Soon Koh is on a ferry on his way to see Miyoko on her island, and the pair start to fall madly in love. Miyoko takes a motorbike and follows Koh and his friend, Ogawa (Takayanagi), on their bikes, while Ogawa smashes car wing mirrors with a wrench. After realising that they’ve been followed, Koh agrees to teach Miyoko to ride. Koh begins to fear that Miyoko will end up dead after she takes a bike out on the road by herself without a licence, and the pair argue over her love of motorcycles. Miyoko disappears with Koh’s Kawasaki, he eventually comes to the conclusion that she has returned to the island and goes after her.
His Motorbike, Her Island is a fairly straightforward movie, plot-wise, however it is with the stylish camera work where it really shines. Obayashi has a bit of a reputation for creating arty, stylish cinema harking back to his early masterpiece, Hausu, which has a startling visual style that sets it apart from other movies. The use of a mixture of colour and monochrome sequences give His Motorbike, Her Island its own unique look that gives it a unique look all of its own. The performances of the cast are really good, particularly Takeuchi, who you’d never have believed hadn’t acted on screen before. This new Blu-ray release from Cult Epics features a high definition transfer of the movie with an audio commentary from Samm Deighan, a couple of visual essays, archival interviews and trailers. On top of that, you get a reversible sleeve featuring the original Japanese poster art, a newly designed slipcase and a great booklet with some really nice promotional materials.
Overall, this is a great package for an underrated gem of a movie. The way Obayashi fetishises the motorcycles through the camera lens leads us to believe that Koh has genuinely begun to feel jealous of the fact that Miyoko has become obsessed with the motorcycle. This makes for a really interesting story about the relationship between Koh and Miyoko. His Motorbike, Her Island is a good film that should appeal to a wide group of people.