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Boasting enough pulpy storylines and genre influences for a dozen Japanese cult favorites, Moon Child director Takahisa Zeze actually turns this dizzying collage of styles to the film's advantage, and delivers an engagingly outlandish genre trip. Constructed as a vehicle for the two eerily beautiful Japanese pop stars Gackt (who also co-wrote the film) and Hyde, Moon Child follows these two friends from childhood as they advance in the criminal underworld of the near future, and Zeze encompasses both bullet-flying gangster action and supernatural vampire horror in his ambitious film.
Friends since their childhood spent living on the streets, Sho (Gackt) and Kei (Hyde) advance in the violent yakuza world, although Sho always feels that he is doomed to walk in his mentor friend Kei's footsteps. Of course, Kei has a bit of an edge, for he has been a vampire with eternal life ever since an encounter with a bloodsucker as a child. Over time, the friendship between Sho and Kei becomes corrupted by ambition, and the conflict over their shared love for the same woman, until a final confrontation becomes inevitable.
Prolific filmmaker Zeze (a former sex movie director with recent mainstream success) brings a heavily stylized sting to the proceedings, and yet amidst all the heavy ammo and blood-draining, there remains a surprisingly effective emotional core to the two heroes' bond (not to mention a homoerotic subtext, and not just because of all the tight leather pants).
You probably think that this movie is another rip-off just because Gackt and Hyde are singers and not actors. Well you are very wrong. The actors do very well in the movie, making it enjoyable to watch over and over.And if you need more proof, read the other reviews as well!!!In the movie, you can really feel the characters emotions and their bond.
a genre mixing rollercoaster
scryed wrote on 05/27/2004:
I bought the original japanese version and my review will go with that one. This movie is great. I've shown it to people who don't know either Hyde or Gackt and loved it as well. The movie shows the life of a boy name Sho as he grows from a punk in the streets to a Leader in a mob/gang. The vampire Kei is a small side story in the film, so don't think this will be a vampire film because that part matters little in the movie, but i will say this, finally they made a movie where a vampire doesn't turn into something or could easily be killed. Kei can treat humans like toys if he wants to, but his complexity comes from the fact that he hates who he is. The story develops after Kei and Sho meets up with Wang Leehom's character. Friendships start to build with everyone but then movies skips through a transition of years and now the friends are enemies, kei is no where to be found, and its a roller coaster of emotion from then on. Who ever wrote the main review was just adding shock value by saying homoerotic, there is none.(this is not Gohatto (taboo in US), Gonin, or any of those movies) Kei is like a father to Sho (he helps raise him), and they both were in love with the same girl. The movie shows drama, kung fu action, bad english, and all those great things that I love about Japanese movies. This is a movie that you should watch.
Not Nearly as Bad as Expected
Laura Organa Solo wrote on 05/19/2004:
Don't let overzealous fangirls or presumptuous "professional" critics keep you from seeing this movie. It is not as nearly as awful as some say, although it isn't sheer genius.
When I first heard about Moon Child, I thought it was a joke. After a few months, I figured I guess it's for real. The few reviews I read that WEREN'T made by squealing fangirls were not very promising.
When I was given the opportunity to watch it, I was fully prepared to groan, wince, and otherwise need to close my eyes to avoid the silliness.
I was more than a little surprised, and in a good way.
Yes, Moon Child has its moments of cheese, camp, and general dorkiness -- I think that's kind of impossible to avoid when it involves Gackt Camui, a man not known for his sanity -- but all in all, it was wholly enjoyable.
No, it is not a work of cinema genius but it is very, very heartfelt, amusing, with fun choreography, a touching score, and a fun cast. I know little of Japanese cinema so I can't really judge the acting but considering the fact that the cast was speaking a language or extreme dialect foreign to them at one time or another and that a couple of them have almost no acting experience, I was rather impressed.
If you can enjoy a good action movie, a good drama, a good comedy, see this film. At least rent it since it's coming to Region 1.
On a side note, I didn't see much of a homoerotic subtext so much as a deep paternal bond. Don't let people that read too much into things ruin this for you.
The acting could have been a bit better, but it makes it sem slightly more real to see that the characters do have flaws. I baught it because of GACKT and HYDE, but considering that Singers-turned-actors usually really suck, this wasn' so bad.
I admit there is some... close toching between males, but nothing that should really make people uncomfortable.(Tight pants=Gackt, get used to it.)
And yeah, shared love for the girl. It was so sad how she kept calling Shop, Kei.
And yes, they are strangly beautiful... Learn to love it.
This movie's pretty unorthodox, but not so bad. The acting is questionable and the only reason I bought it is because it stars my favorite person of all time, Gackt. If you love HYDE or Wang Leehom, go for it. Otherwise, I'm not sure why you'd get it. And I have no idea what the description on this site is talking about.. Homoerotic? Where?? And whole "two characters' conflict over the shared love for one girl" doesn't really happen. Sorry to break it to you guys. But it packs some pretty nice action. That's basically it.
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Not What You Expected
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