Punk Rock Post-Apocalypse: Burst City (1982)

 
Nothing screams anti-establishment quite like punk-Fucking-rock. Ishii Gakurya's (Ishii Sogo at the time) Burst City explodes off the screen with the fury of a tiny, cramped Fear show with Lee Ving screaming in your face in '79. Imagine yourself, in a Mad Max-style future. You live in the bombed remains of an office building. Yakuza, punk bands, and a pair of armor clad mute men ride into town. The police look for excuses to bust you. There's only one thing to purge your frustrations with the world...the next Battle Rockers, Roosters, or The Stalin show. This isn't a traditional film in anyway. Funeral Parade of Roses could be seen as a predecessor to Burst.

Burst City: 2 bikers ride into a destroyed and distraught Tokyo full of angry youth on the verge of revolt. The yakuza want to build a nuclear power plant. The workers quit. The youth and punk bands fight back against the police and yakuza.

The axe is barely seen or used, but it looks cool.

Ishii purposefully bucked tradition to create this bizarre vision of Japan's future. The general look of everything is reminiscent of the post-WW2 films like Suzuki's Gate of Flesh, Kobayashi's Black River, and Mizoguchi's Women of the Night. Instead of having hordes of prostitutes wandering the ruins of Tokyo, it's punks bands and their close knit fans. No surprise, the yakuza exist as always. As long as there's a business opportunity to take advantage of, they will appear. Evoking the past to create a future is only fitting given that Black River was centered on a yakuza's construction project. The world of post-WW2 Japan wasn't that far off. Ishii wasn't born into that world but he would been well aware of it and the harsh realities of it. Like most of the post-WW2 films, everyone is poor, miserable, and have nothing to look forward to. Except for one thing here...Punk Rock.

Even though the economy is nonexistent, the rebellious youth still prioritize makeup, leather jackets, and hair products. Where it comes from, isn't relevant. Unlike the dreary and sometimes occasionally outright bleak Mizoguchi films, Burst goes in the complete opposite direction. It doesn't matter, they have an outlet for their unchecked rage. There's a ritual to it - getting your makeup right, picking your outfit, going to a show, rocking out, and then church concludes. This is all to show that punk isn't merely music, it's life. You're a punk or a fuckin' square. Punks are powerful people, they defy authority and will go down fighting. Throughout the film, they're segregated into several factions. Once the police and yakuza crackdown, the punks unite and fight back. Their way of life is at stake, the Battle Rockers (the central band that's made up of real band members from The Rockers and The Roosters) lead the revolt. The lead singer screams at the white armored cops, "DONT'T FUCK WITH ME!"

The final line of Burst City

Revolt among the lower class like the bombed out imagery evokes the past, for Japan and the world at large, and a few films as well - Imamura's Eijanaika and Shinoda's The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan. Historically, the more a group is marginalized, the more likely they'll fight for a better place in society. It's taken to the extreme, with the entire police force along with yakuza converging onto the punks as they protest a nuclear power plant from being built. Several die, including the red clad rival band, portrayed by the real band The Stalin. It was not in vain. A punk is a punk, they may come from a different tribe but they're still one of the good ones. Passion and rage fuel the rebellion, which we see the start of but never learn the outcome. It's a very punk way to handle that story conflict - no proper resolution. The outcome realistically will fail as they typically do, looking at Eijanaika and The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan as historical and cinematic examples. The message is received but not necessarily understood or even acknowledged by those in power. Political rebellion is central to Burst City. The film is rebellion is in its purest, rawest form.

In line with the historical connections, the 2 mysterious are cyperpunk versions of Benkei and Yoshitsune from the play Kanjincho. We don't know where they come from or even who are they. In theory, they're the audience surrogate. They aren't, nobody is. Their story takes random nonsensical turns at the drop of a hat. It's just another element in this chaotic shit hole. To describe the this as angry is foolish. It's more than that, it's pure unchecked rage at the world. It tackles everything from the authorities to trashing on the Beatles. One of the first appearances of the central band (about 8 minutes in), they walk onto stage stepping on a retro Beatles poster. That is not only disrespectful but it's blasphemy to many. That sets the tone for everything to come. To say Ishii, makes a statement with this simple act (it's a quick moment but necessary) is a grand understatement. The Beatles are a cultural force of unapproachable power. To spit in the face of the most iconic band ever, is one of the most powerful things you could put in a film about music. This ain't your daddy's Yellow Submarine, it's a new time with new music. Punk can and will survive.

It's astounding, the care and attention given to the editing. It may appear sloppy to some, but it's precise, particular, and highly controlled. However, it's frantic, erratic, and purposefully confounding. At times, it's blistering quick, going to through countless images. You can't keep up with everything you're seeing. You can follow the events but it's a constant middle finger in your face. It forces you to pay closer attention. This is not a glance at your phone experience, there is no way to predict what's coming. Once you start to feel comfortable or you grasp what's going on , the editing twists things deeper into the chaotic web of post-apocalyptic punk Tokyo. It never fully finds it's footing there is always a new trick to grab you, slap across the face, and release you until it decides to repeat the process. The same goes for the camera. It's constantly shifting its mood and patterns. The intensity grows and grows and reaches an earth-shattering pitch. It never settles or slows down, except for a few moments. In those few moments of calm, you're drawn into this apocalyptic wasteland. The veneer of the punk community is on full display against the crumbling reality where they live. In this we get to see how dire the situation truly is. The moments are brief but let us know they are people too.

Burst City cast a large shadow over the next generations of filmmakers. This is not an independent film. This is a studio picture, Toei to be precise. Which makes a lot of sense, given that this a more youth focused film and the material is wild. Shochiku or Toho would never have produced anything like this at this point. One of the most prominent children of Burst City, who went onto direct several films is Miike Takashi. Looking at his most extreme films, Ichi the Killer and  Visitor Q, the disregard for traditional approach and complete willingness to go to over the edge. The sped up shots of the Mad Max bikers (who are based on the central characters in Kanjincho, which Kurosawa made into The Men Who Tread On The Tiger's Tail) approaching the city and exiting the city are directly referenced in Ichi the Killer. These are also reminiscent of the train POV in Daisies as well, maybe a reference or not. Burst City's raw anger and energy make this the classic cult film it is. Words can't fully encompass the experience of watching film.

This is available on DVD.