The band members of X Japan, the subject of Stephen Kijak’s new documentary “We Are X,” dress in KISS-like outfits. There is an androgynous aspect to the way they move onstage, reminiscent of David Bowie’s performances. Their music is loud and filled with pulsating rock rhythms. They understand that, above all, they need to give their audience a show. Their concerts are flashy, their costumes provocative, their passion always evident. Even if the band never caught on internationally, their Japanese fan base is insanely large and intensely loyal. Yet even if X Japan’s style seems similar to other artists, they are one-of-a-kind.
Kijak provides a brief history of the band so that we can understand their popularity and their distinctiveness. The group was founded by drummer Yoshiki and his boyhood friend, vocalist Toshi. Kijak tracks the band’s history from their meteoritic rise to fame in the 1980s to their hostile breakup in the 1990s to their eventual reunion in the 2000s. The band’s story is riveting; it is fascinating to hear how the band has managed to survive the untimely deaths of two of its members and the brainwashing of another.
Still, Kijak’s narrative seems somewhat incomplete. At one point, an interviewee mentions that X Japan challenged the global image of Japan as a conservative society. Kijak briefly mentions that the band was influenced by Kabuki theater and the Japanese code of honor, but he fails to expound upon these ideas and misses an opportunity to tie X Japan’s unique story to a larger cultural context. Even though notable figures like comic book luminary Stan Lee, KISS member Gene Simmons and Beatles producer George Martin sing the praises of X Japan, I was left wondering how and why the music of X Japan excited legions of Japanese youth.
Kijak’s mise-en-scène does not help him to explain this either. Ostensibly, the psychedelic colors he employs in the concert scenes are meant to match the ostentatious, provocative nature of the band, and his oscillating zoom-ins and zoom-outs are supposed to suggest the strong beat of X Japan’s music. But at times, these techniques distract from X Japan’s music and story. We are too involved in Kijak’s images to pay attention to the songs. Frustratingly, the documentary does not include many excerpts from X Japan’s performances. As a viewer unfamiliar with the group, I wanted to see and hear more of their work.
Oddly enough, the most successful sections of Kijak’s documentary take place outside of the concert hall. We are witness to all of the preparations for the band’s 2014 concert at Madison Square Garden, from Yoshiki’s health check-up, to the promotion of the performance, to the final sound check and dress rehearsal. The members of the band practice and relax together, and it was in these sections that I gained an appreciation of X Japan’s craft.
The documentary emphasizes that the members of the band are not just rock stars but people. Kijak focuses most on Yoshiki, the founder and leader of the band, and I was disappointed that he did not discuss the perspectives of the other band members in such detail. Not only do some of the other band members seem to be slighted, but the documentary is never able to offer us a balanced view of X Japan as a collective. We only truly understand Yoshiki’s perspective, and we are never witness to the complex interactions between these artists that make X Japan viable.
Still, Yoshiki’s musings on his art form the heart of “We Are X.” He reflects on the forces that motivated him to create the band, the pain he felt when the band dissolved and his apprehensiveness about playing outside of Japan. Music is his raison-de-être. The most memorable part of an X Japan concert occurs when Yoshiki collapses after a bout of wild, intense drumming. He insists this is not an act. His passion for his music literally exhausts him. Kijak allows us to see the price of Yoshiki’s devotion to his art. He suffers from tendonitis and arthritis as a result of his years of drumming, and the film forces us to think about the consequences of this fame.
Ultimately, “We Are X” works when Kijak is not trying to convince us that X Japan played a defining role in the global history of rock music. X Japan is so idiosyncratic and their story is so unique that it is only possible to understand them through their environment and their personalities. If Kijak fails in producing a complete portrait of X Japan, he is at least able to give us a fitting introduction to the group by emphasizing their passion and drive.
Contact Amir Abou-Jaoude at amir2 ‘at’ stanford.edu.