Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name

Cast

Production

Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name was originally one episode in the 12-part television series Private Detective Mike Yokohama which aired on Yomiuri TV in 2002. Each episode was 45–55 minutes long and shot by a different director, including such well-known filmmakers as Alex Cox, Shinobu Yaguchi, and Isao Yukisada. All of them featured the character Mike Yokohama (Hama Maiku), a detective who was the center of a series of films made by Kaizo Hayashi in the 1990s. Aoyama's episode was broadcast on television, and then expanded for release in the theaters. It was shot in super 16 mm and blown up to 35 mm.

Release

The film was screened at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2002. It was also shown at the Cleveland International Film Festival in 2003.

Reception

Todd Brown of Twitch Film described the film as "a strikingly composed and completely open ended study of the nature of desire and identity." He said, "[Shinji] Aoyama's stylistic flourishes are in full effect and Masatoshi Nagase gives an excellent, multi layered performance as Hama himself." On the other hand, Time Out London's review was less favourable. The reviewers at FilmBizarro found the movie enjoyable, and noted that watching it "will lead to interesting conversations between viewers".