We Are X

We Are X (2016)

The music never had to be explained.

As glam rock's most flamboyant survivors, X Japan ignited a musical revolution in Japan during the late '80s with their melodic metal. Twenty years after their tragic dissolution, X Japan’s leader, Yoshiki, battles with physical and spiritual demons alongside prejudices of the West to bring their music to the world.

Date of release
2016-03-12
TMDB
7.1 / 10 (32)
Runtime
1h 32m
Genres
Music, Documentary
Director
Stephen Kijak

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: Sundance World Cinema Special Jury Prize Documentary

We Are X is a 2016 documentary film about the Japanese rock band X Japan and its co-founder, drummer, pianist and leader Yoshiki. Directed by Stephen Kijak, it premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23. The film covers the history of the band, their influence on Japanese music and society, the band's break up in 1997 and reunion in 2007, and their attempts to achieve success overseas. It also covers Yoshiki's childhood with the X Japan's vocalist Toshi, the suicide of Yoshiki's father when Yoshiki was ten years old, the deaths of two members of the band, and Yoshiki's various health problems.

Production

The film's name comes from the call and response performed by X Japan with the audience during live performances of their self-titled song "X". Numerous times during a pause in the song a band member, usually Toshi, will yell "We are..." and the audience responds with "X!" before the musicians start the last leg of the song.

Yoshiki was convinced to do the film by his agent, Marc Geiger of William Morris Endeavor, and according to director Stephen Kijak, had given the film crew a completely free hand. Kijak said he had never heard of X Japan before getting a call from his producer to make the documentary. But upon learning the band's slogan of "Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock" he wanted to be a part of it.

Despite not having listened to heavy metal since age 13 or 14 in favor of new wave, Kijak was immediately drawn to the band's music, surprised he had never heard it before. He bonded with some of the band members; learning that Kiss' Love Gun was the first album he, Yoshiki and Toshi had ever bought and talking with Sugizo about the British new wave band Japan and its bassist Mick Karn, who was a friend of the guitarist.

Principal photography began on October 11, 2014 at X Japan's concert at Madison Square Garden. The documentary was announced on July 5, 2015. The director said that because Yoshiki had been documenting his life and X Japan for decades, the team had a lot of archival footage to dig through and use.

Kijak revealed that upon thinking of Lynch's use of doppelgängers he was reminded of an interview where Yoshiki said he has two personalities, his public persona and a man wounded by the tragedies in his life. He made this the subtext of the film to have something deeper than the average rockumentary. He said one of the hardest aspects was editorial, trying to balance all the characters, albums and drama with Yoshiki's life and work.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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