Good things tend to come in pairs, and rather wonderfully so in that over the past year we’ve had, not one, but two Japanese films riffing on the wonderful British classic, Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero and its ‘corporate folk in unchartered territory’ formula. Firstly through Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist which toyed with this conceit so subversively and hauntingly, and now Marc Marriott’s Tokyo Cowboy. A more lightweight affair, but one which does well in the execution of the fish out of water playbook in its tale of a Japanese businessman abroad working on a Montana cattle ranch.
Played by Arata Iura (best known for his lead turn in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After Life), our protagonist Hideki arrives in Montana after convincing his Tokyo bosses, which include his wife Keiko (Ayako Fujitani), to send him on a business trip to help revitalise one of their assets, a profitless cattle ranch, into a profitable business. The straight-laced Hideki has made a name for himself as a prolific employee, buying out companies with clinical efficiency, and sees this American venture as a new challenge.
Joining him on the business trip is a veteran Wagyu-beef expert, Wada (the always charismatic Jun Kunimura), who provides a looser, more carefree foil to Hideki, reminding his younger companion that establishing a rapport with the community is as important as selling them on business ideas. When Wada gets injured during their first night in Montana, this puts Hideki to the test, as without Wada, Hideki must navigate this new environment of ranchers and cattle, muddy frontiers, and big extroverted personalities on his own
Marriott, who devised the story with producer Brigham Taylor, cited his experiences working in Japan under the legendary director Yoji Yamada as being formative to Tokyo Cowboy’s narrative. Specifically, the ways in which he encountered culture shock and disconnect, but also finding connection through the friendships he made and experiences he went through. These moments compelled Marriott to explore the inverse of a Japanese person travelling to America, taking inspiration from a cattle ranch hosting Japanese workers learning about ranching, from which was borne the central narrative of Tokyo Cowboy.
The screenplay was co-written by Fujitani and Dave Boyle, a collaborative effort of a wide cultural tapestry as Fujitani was born in Japan and moved to America, and Boyle, like Marriott, is an American who also lived and worked in Japan for a duration. This makes the film feel particularly authentic and genuine in its depiction of Hideki navigating the two worlds of Tokyo and Montana. The specific story beats may feel like familiar indie territory, but the sensitivity and warmth of the dialogue and characters ensure it never feels less than honest. The American frontier and the bustling Japanese city have vivid personalities of their own, and how they impact our central figure.
Iura plays Hideki with restrained stoicism that makes many of his initial interactions with the Montana locals awkward, though the geniality of his good intentions and manners still shine through. In order to do business with the ranchers, led by Robin Weigert’s (of Deadwood fame) Peg, he has to “meet them halfway,” in the words of Javier (Goya Robles), a Latino rancher who befriends Hideki.
“You gotta speak their language. Get them to trust you and they’ll listen,” Javier explains, and Hideki heeds this advice assimilating into the lifestyle of the cattle ranch, donning cowboy garments and getting sucked into the slang and lingo of the community.
As Hideki reminisces about his childhood on a farm that was sold away when he turned four, Wada sagely notes that he seems to be reconnecting with a part of himself he’d kept pent up too long. Iura loosens up Hideki’s emotions to show the warmer, more emotional side of the character, which becomes quite affecting as Hideki grows to genuinely enjoy his time in Montana.
Oscar Ignacio Jimenez’s cinematography captures the Montana landscapes so pristinely with some striking shots of the ranchers on horseback in the wild, indulging us in the experience that Hideki is going through. It’s easy to see how Hideki gets so enraptured by his new surroundings and what drives him to the decisions he makes over the course of the narrative.
The way in which Marriott captures the experience of Hideki and the appeal of the cattle ranch and frontier encapsulate the wide appeal of the film by creating an affectionate tribute to the setting and warm bonds made within it. While Tokyo Cowboy doesn’t reinvent any wheels, it’s a lovely fulfilling watch that nails all its goodhearted intentions.
