The films of Sabu — the pseudonym of actor-turned-director Hiroyuki Tanaka — are typically about guys on the move, be it as a troubled soul on a journey ("Blessing Bell") or a crook on the run ("Unlucky Monkey"). The object is usually laughs, though Sabu has also forayed into the serious ("The Crab Cannery Ship") in a two-decade career.
His latest, "jam," is another absurdist comedy, albeit one that dips into heart-warming drama and sharp social commentary. But its structure — three separate, yet convening, storylines, all set in a small provincial city — is something new, as is its backing by LDH, a talent agency that represents boy band Exile and its various sub-groups. Not surprisingly, the cast is heavily populated by LDH talents.
The script is a Sabu original, though somewhat lacking in originality: Watching the film at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, I was mentally name-checking Rob Reiner's horror-thriller "Misery" and the "Lone Wolf and Cub" samurai series.