Now available on Blu-ray from Cult Epics
A young motorcycle enthusiast meets a charming country girl on the island she lives on, creating a motorbike obsession in her and perhaps something for himself.
Written by Ikuo Sekimoto, based on a novel by Yoshio Kataoka, and directed by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi, His Motorbike, Her Island is an almost calm exploration of motorcycle culture in Japan, one where the lead is not a part of a gang but rather a worker who uses his bike for his job, a man who loves the road and isn’t afraid to just go for what he wants, most of the time. The writing here is slow and calculated, showing its cards one by one, bringing the viewer into the story and making them care about the lead and his love interest. The direction works with this beautifully well, giving the viewer a version of this story that is mesmerizing.
The cast here is charming and easy to get into as they get into each other (in the case of the leads), a cast that is seemingly giving incredibly natural performances that allow the viewer to really get into the story and the film. Stealing the show is Kiwako Harada as Miyoko. As the love interest, she has to charming and she is tenfold. She’s lovely, her performance is adorable, touching, and just that perfect touch of vulnerability. Her performance is so strong, the film might as well be all about her. Joining her and having his spotlight stolen is Riki Takeuchi as Koh. His performance is solid and does keep the attention throughout, but she outshines him just a little. His work here is exactly what the film needs and he makes a solid protagonist.
The cinematography here is beautiful, the work by Yoshitaka Sakamoto shows care in creating images, a knowledge of how to do, and a passion for getting just the right images for a scene. The work showcased here just right for the film and the characters, there is something sentimental about it all and it works so beautifully well with the story. The images set the mood, the way they adjust to the weather, the way they showcase the characters, the whole film is made better by these carefully created images.
His Motorbike, Her Island is a drama that is worth tracking down, one where the characters are well-developed and acted, the writing and direction are on point, the cinematography is lovely. There is something here that makes this one a classic, a film to be seen, it is a different take on the motorcycle film of yore, one that is charming, almost lulling-ly so, one that is easy to watch and get into.
This new release some Cult Epics looks fantastic on Blu-ray with a solid image transfer and a decent audio quality. The extras here aren’t multitudes, but out of them, the commentary by Samm Deighan, the visual essays, and the interview with director Nobuhiko Ôbayashi