[Documentary Review] We Are X

We are X. The infamous chant that all X Japan fans chant to show undying appreciation for the band. I had the pleasure of attending the screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Theater in New York City in 2016. It's a shame I couldn't make it to the show Yoshiki was going to be be present, but still it was a good night.

I was only able to purchase tickets to see the screening before Yoshiki appeared. There were probably 5 or so people present that night. I walked into the mall where the theater was located. Need I say that Fort Greene looks really good at night? The neighborhood that I thought I was familiar with was more hip than I had remembered since my school days. The mall in November was open, but still under partial renovation. The Alamo was located on the top floor. I didn't know you could even order food and drinks right at your seat.

Before the show had even started, they were playing some clips. Very odd Japanese clips from a variety show, part of a comedic PV for a song, and the funniest of all was the infamous and viral video of Nyango Star playing the drums to X Japan's Kurenai. During that week, I was suffering from an ear infection. I was deaf in one ear and the fear of being unable to enjoy the film to its fullest was well on my list. Maybe it was the speakers that were loud enough so my deaf ear didn't hear muffled sounds at all.

There were things that I liked and didn't like in the documentary. It is a treat for the fans to watch, but it's not a piece to gain new information from. We are able to see some new and exclusive footage that have not been shown before, but I wouldn't count that as surprisingly new information. I would agree with Yoshiki that the documentary was an emotional roller coaster, perhaps less for me, but definitely more for him.

For Yoshiki where X Japan was all about being dramatic in sound, music, and fashion, I think the visuals created for the documentary were very fitting. Director Stephen Kijak had projected the themes of life and death, especially how Yoshiki was always preoccupied with life and death, throughout the film multiple times. Sometimes it was through interviews with past staff, but most of the times it was through narration and video montage.

For someone that is unfamiliar with X Japan, this would be a good starting point to know more about the topic. I get the overwhelming message from the film that it is not really about X Japan, but about Yoshiki. However let's look at it this way. It's been very apparent to the fans that Yoshiki had been extremely present since the formation of the band and the entity has fused with him. It wouldn't be bizarre to say that X Japan is Yoshiki and his band mates. I am not saying this to dim the spotlight on other members, but it is almost as if Yoshiki is the main engine.

There were times when I wanted to cheer at the screen. I consider myself a very new fan and as the old footage from the 80s and 90s were shown, you can feel the raw energy radiating from the performance no matter for pixelated the footage was. The slow motion footage from the Madison Square Garden performance (which I had attended) was also incorporated into the documentary. Essentially the entire documentary was building up to the Madison Square Garden performance which I personally feel was Yoshiki's dream come true. Backstage footage from Lunatic Fest was also used. I didn't expect to see Kaoru's face up on the silver screen, but several bands from Lunatic Fest made it into the documentary namely Dir en grey, Ladies Room, Luna Sea, Mayday etc.

It hints at some details of Toshi's brainwashing, but won't go into full detail. If you are interested in that, I would highly recommend reading Toshi's book, Brainwash, for the full story. I also wrote a review which you can read here. Taiji's eventual departure from the band isn't fully explained, as Yoshiki says he won't reveal why. Overall, it was a good film to watch. I can't really put it in the category of phenomenal and I don't mean this with disrespect. Like I had mentioned earlier, it's really a treat for the fans to see how far the band has come. For all the non believers, maybe you can embark on the journey of experiencing someone else's growth.