Geotropism

In my opinion, any so-called punk that does not recognise the importance of dadaism or the avant-garde can unglue their mohawks, sell their uniform jackets and get a bath, things don't spit in the face of normality much more than the revulsion that can be found in dadaist work. Extreme Japanese hardcore group G.I.S.M. most certainly did not shy away from the avant-garde, with lead singer Sakevi Yokoyama dabbling in harsh noise side projects and various audio collages, expert collage printing and art design, full-force shock tactics (readers new to G.I.S.M. might do well to know about their prolific violence on and off stage) and some involvement in experimental filmmaking, with Geotropism (directed by Junji Yasuda) being the token film to the band's name in terms of a full appearance, or as close to one as possible. The film stars Sakevi as himself while the rest of the band appear as homeless folk (punks all the same), there is no dialogue and it clocks in at 20 minutes; if you were expecting it to be Sakevi beating up pussyfooters, you're going to have to reserve that expectation for his short scene in Robinson's Garden.

Barbaric editing and pounding audio collide in what is nearly an incomprehensible montage of Sakevi walking round an abandoned building with solarized images of gas mask-clad faces, x-ray examples of human anatomy, radiation warnings and shelter instructions briefly flashing on screen in between. Sakevi seems to be a controller of some sort (it's hard to tell with the version used), eventually he boards a train, the amplified audio of coughs, spits and clicks eventually becomes a harsh noise track as Sakevi is shown going crazy in his building intercut with images of explosions and a rocket taking off, a caucasian man is show in a segment talking but his dialogue is inaudible. Eventually, it culminates to the final scene of Sakevi eating while listening to an omnious English voice count repeatedly in billions, as the shadow of a gun can be seen trained on his head.

Despite how much the film likes to assault with its imagery and sound, it's not hard to deduce that it is a scathing critique of human progress in the title alone (in relation to the concept of geotropism, roots growing underground is positive geotropism whilst stems growing away is considered negative geotropism, perhaps the latter can be applied to the shot of a rocket launching into space, alternatively, GeotropISM) and that everything in it ultimately points to nuclear war (one has to only consider the fact this is a Japanese film made during the Cold War, that and G.I.S.M.'s generally nihilistic and military-themed style). For those interested in the Japanese art film scene, material focused on nuclear warfare or general nonsense of this nature, it's an intriguing little watch that is no doubt poetic for some and complete rubbish for others, if anything it's a progressive post-apocalyptic short. Keep in mind, this is an especially rare one though.

- James

Review source: Japanese VHS
Title information:

• Year of release: 1984