His Motorbike, Her Island (1986) Blu-ray Review

Ko (Riki Takeuchi) is a motorcycle courier who recently broke up with Fuyumi, the sister of his boss Hidemasa, resulting in Ko going to the countryside where he meets Miyo (Kiwako Hirada), a young local who quickly becomes obsessed with motorcycles. Ko, infatuated with Miyo, decides to teach her how to ride but becomes concerned that her fanaticism may lead to her early and violent demise.

His Motorbike, Her Island on the surface is a simple teen romance melodrama with some biker/delinquency touches but as you ride along with Ko and Miyo, you begin to develop a dull ache for the freedom they thirst for and find through motorcycles and each other. Ko's Kawasaki W3 650 is the third in Ko and Miyo's love triangle which is made obvious in multiple scenes where we see Ko softly caressing the bike's gas tank and Miyo running her hands along the bike's tarp in the rain. Ko and Miyo both have the same drive for freedom but Miyo seems much more mature as she has not thrown away her home island and culture in the chase for freedom, while Ko can't seem to keep up with his music school and personal relationships in his hunt.

There's a perfume of nostalgic melancholy throughout the film that does such an effortless job of creating a timeless story contained in a place that feels truly its own which makes the film feel like a modern fairytale. The bike duel scene between Ko and his boss Hidemasa being an old jousting fight as we watch these men cruise at each other on motorcycle steeds with sticks to battle in hand. Ko's hero journey is not just for freedom or Miyo but for him to learn that Miyo has her own freedom that he must come to trust her no matter the hesitations weighing upon him. In a way Ko must finally grow up like his ex Fuyumi who grew well beyond his expectations after their breakup to the point she starts to a find a career as a singer and is about to start her own family.

Nobuhiko Obayashi (House, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) directs this film with just enough of his surrealist flair that will leave a soft impression with you, that may not blow you away at first but you won't stop thinking about it after the initial viewing. The film hops back and forth from black and white to color which is explained early on by Ko who says he dreams in monochrome, this artistic choice will have you questioning what is real or dream especially towards the end. In the archival interview with Obayashi on the disk he explains that there is strong hand around this theme with certain moments and how he was forced to cut the original 2 hour runtime of the film down to 90 minutes which in a way Obayashi embraced with jump cuts and even cutting one of the most important scenes adding to the dream like quality of the film.

Alex Pratt's visual essay in the bonus features talks about Obayashi's use of his home island, Onomichi, throughout his films which one can understand why the importance of Miyo's home comes through so strong and beautifully when you learn of his personal attachment to the island. Esther Rosenchild takes a filmic historical approach in another visual essay tackling the influence of American biker culture in Japan resulting in a movement there known as Bosozuku and the American biker films that cemented it. Samm Deighan's commentary on the disk is a retrospective on Obayashi's career and how he may be known most for House (1977) but a good chunk of his filmography actually falls under these coming of age melodramas. Deighan also goes into detail about some of the actor's biographies and ends on the Bosozuku movement while also goes into the female film version, sukeban, as well.

Cult Epic's web exclusive version of the film comes with a postcard size replica of the Japanese theatrical trailer, 24 page promo booklet repro (Leaving one wishing it was translated to English but still fun to thumb through), and a handful of trailers of other Obayashi projects.

If you ever find yourself longing for the freedom of radical young love or just the feeling of wind in your hair make sure to pick up your copy of His Motorcycle, Her Island at the following link: https://cultepics.com/product/his-motorbike-her-island-blu-ray-exclusive

★★★★