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Wow. That was truly brutal and truly gorgeous all at once. It's incredible how many interesting things can be done with a camera when plot and narrative take a back seat and visual storytelling is allowed to run amok. Image Eraserhead, the poetic nightmarishness of Metropolis, the cringe-inducing scenes from the NIN Broken videos, and Cronenberg at his most daring, all wrapped up into 67 frantic minutes. If you aren't familiar with any of these comparisons, well...where does one begin? Without giving too much away, (much of the narrative is presented non-linearly anyhow), the essential story involves a young man who has a fetish for inserting metal into his skin. Having inserted a metal rod in his leg (you won't need to use your imagination), he sprints down the street only to be hit by a car operated by a business man and his lover. The young man not only lives, but seems to have obtained super-powers, allowing him to infect the guilty party with some sort of cyber/metal/terror virus. A revenge-plot of sorts ensues, and much can be made about themes of industrialization taking over humanity, the struggle for organic authenticity in a technological era, etc. The narative is loose enough, however, that it encourages, even demands, all kinds of interpretations, so go wild. There's plenty of sexual imagry for example, and it shouldn't be difficult to nuture theories about the implications of sexual fantasy, intamacy, violence, feminism, or male power-paradigms. The scant plot and sparse dialogue of course leaves all kinds of room for stunning, grotesque, and beautiful (just pause the movie at nearly any moment and LOOK at that black, white and silver frame) visuals propelled by a cold and manic industrial score. Despite my best attempts to try to categorize Tetsuo, it really is a work unique from anything else I've seen. I'm ready to watch it again!
