TOKYO COWBOY: More Than A Japanese City Slickers

We’re introduced first to the corporate world of Japan. Hideki Sakai (Arata Iura) is a quintessential Japanese businessman wedded to his work. Always wearing a suit and tie and chained to his briefcase and laptop. The only personal life he has is also intimately connected with work; he’s been in a relationship with his boss (Ayako Fujitani), which is an open secret among everyone in their company.

Sakai-san has looked to make their business more profitable and his latest pet project is a new asset they’ve retained in the States: They have a ranch in Montana. He vows to go visit the facilities and turn it around by growing corn and cattle for wagyu beef so it can be sustainable. The only problem is he doesn’t know anything about beef or American culture.

Thus, they bring in a veteran. Wada-san (Jun Kunimura) takes the job for one simple reason. The fast food restaurant Hardee’s has the best burger he’s ever had. At least he’s blatantly honest. This in itself is a bit mystifying in Japanese culture. So against the boss’s better judgment, they set off on a business trip to Montana.

Marc Marriott directs the cross-cultural tale and Dave Boyle (Man from Reno) and Fujitani (daughter of Steven Seagal and Miyako Fujitani) are the architects behind the screenplay. It feels like the trio are seamlessly able to navigate the cultural divide between East and West with self-assured perceptiveness. Marriott apprenticed under Japanese National Treasure Yoji Yamada who directed many entries in the long-running Tora-San series.

Welcome to Big Sky Country

When the two Japanese travelers roll into their accommodations at Big Sky Country and the woman asks them for the number of their accommodations, Sakai-san gives her an awkwardly blank stare, and I laughed out loud.

The attendant Cindy (Scout Smith) proudly parrots a phrase of Japanese she knows, and then looks on a bit sheepishly when she doesn’t understand how to respond after that. It’s the age-old trap of guidebook phrases; they rarely prepare you to have a real conversation.

She feels wonderfully stereotyped in the modern mode. Like most Japanese enthusiasts from America, she’s doing Duolingo (like this writer) and ingests a lot of manga and anime. She really wants to go to “Akiba” (perhaps the Tokyo anime and manga hub  Akihabara?).

Meanwhile, the Japanese characters marvel at how big and wide Montana is. Even our small drink sizes dwarf the largest options in Japan. This is American to a tee. In a similar way, I was thinking how I appreciate the film because it has the pacing to allow for space between interactions — to wring out the awkwardness, the humor, and the mundane bits of human connection we all experience.

On their first night, they forego an early bedtime to meet the ranch’s caretaker Peg (Robin Weigert) at The Old Saloon. Like a good Japanese salaryman, Sakai-san brought omiyage (souvenirs) in the form of his company’s chocolate bars. His pragmatic countryman chides him to buy a round of drinks for his guests instead.

Wada-san is the movie’s undisputed secret weapon. In Japan he’s a bit odd, he doesn’t fit the mold, and yet in Montana, they appreciate him because he readily takes part in their way of life. He shares jokes over beer and rides the mechanical bull for the boisterous crowd of onlookers. His inebriated exploits also land him in the local hospital.

It’s a shame when Wada-san is sidelined, and Sakai-san has to go it alone, but it’s what the movie requires. Because his colleague is already content in his skin and has a casual appreciation of American ranching culture.

Sakai-san still has room to grow in order to lose his formal, antiseptic edges. He’s not just going from the city to the country; he had to cross an entire ocean from a different culture to get there. It’s going to take some time.

Although it’s a bit too convenient to say Tokyo Cowboy is a Japanese riff on City Slickers, the bare essentials are the same. He must learn at least some aspects of what it means to be a rancher and grow in empathy. His reluctant guide is Javier (Goya Robles). Javier doesn’t know how he’s supposed to deal with this man who probably hasn’t ever ridden a horse before.

But Sakai-san has no one else to take the reins and lead him. He visits the hospital and Wada left instructions: They read in Japanese “Please bring me Hardee’s.” I chortled again. But that is all. He must go it alone and trust Javier’s guidance. It goes both ways. There’s a give-and-take between the two of them.

In one scene Hideki comes along as Javier’s guest to a quinceañera, and he starts to learn intuitively that American culture has so many elements beyond the homogenous perceptions of Japan. Although Lucky was more integrated into the community, it reminded a bit of Harry Dean Stanton being invited to a local birthday party and singing “Volver, Volver” for a captive audience. This party is probably Tokyo Cowboy‘s most moving interlude as well.

Conclusion: Tokyo Cowboy

By the latter half, Tokyo Cowboy is a bit shaggy in places, but we stick around for the character moments because they feel mostly benevolent and genuine. Hideki’s boss girlfriend comes to check in on his progress, and she recognizes how radically he’s changed.

He’s stopped seeing the ranch simply as a commodity, and he wants to buy the land to make it profitable through a combination of ranching and quinoa harvesting (Yes, quinoa!) because he now has a personal connection to it.

Only time will tell how his love life will resolve, but he’s in a better place. The trajectory of the story is inevitably heartfelt.  Also, in case anyone was worried Wada-san makes a full recovery and gets his Hardee’s burger. It’s a happy ending.

Tokyo Cowboy was initially released on October 5, 2023 and it has played at selected film festivals.