Tetsuo - The Iron Man
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto
As well as the mise-en-scene and musical soundtrack, often sound effects are an important part of the storytelling. As mentioned, the sound of Salaryman’s voice is altered to highlight his mutation, in order to contrast with Fetishist’s lesser degree of mutation. There are various sound effects that are used, occasionally independent of the image that are used to suggest or highlight something within the story. One example of this is the drill sound used when Salaryman’s rotating groinal attachment appears. When it first appears, the sound is heard first, followed by a shot of Girlfriend’s surprised face, before finally appearing on the screen. This helps give the effect of it growing from nowhere, and also the sound association is made so it can be used later. When Girlfriend stabs Salaryman, there is the off-screen sound of his drill slowing to a stop. Then when they start lovemaking, and Salaryman has a flashback, the use of the drill sound suggests that it is this that brings back his attention to what is going on, and it is also obvious in the next shot of Girlfriend shaking about with blood flying everywhere behind her and out of her mouth, what has happened.
Another example of sounds being repeated to help tell the story, is Fetishist’s heavy breathing at the beginning. In the beginning of the film, the heavy breathing has been followed by something shocking - the iron bar being rammed into his leg. As this scene is likely to stick in the mind of most viewers, Tsukamoto is able to use the sound of the heavy breathing in order to recapture the mood set by that scene and carry it over to another. This happens in the scene where Girl With Glasses, probes at the lump of flesh and metal at the train station. The sound of Fetishist’s heavy breathing is dubbed over this scene, and there are short shots of Fetishist in his room. The use of the breathing adds to tension, giving the viewer the impression that probing the lump of flesh and metal with a pen is a bad idea and that something terrible is going to result from it.
Also sound effects can be used in order to suggest or highlight a setting. At the train station, there are sounds of trains moving past. Also at the beginning of the final scene, there is the sound of a car honking its horn, although there are no cars visible on the screen. The effect of this is that is highlights that they are both outside again, and reminds the audience that the story is meant to be taking place in the ordinary everyday world, and that there are other people existing as well as the two main characters. This is particularly important as they are about to go off and destroy the whole world. It is necessary for the viewer to remember that there is a world to destroy.
The sound and imagery also go towards the viewer’s decision of what they think the film is about in terms of meaning, and also the meaning that the viewer attaches to the film can affect the way they interpret imagery within the film. One possible view is that the film is about aids. This can be supported by the gradual corruption of the main characters’ bodies - particularly the weakening of Fetishist near the end of the film, the very blatant use of sexual imagery, and the speech at the end of the film saying “our love will destroy the whole fucking world”. If this view of the film is taken, then the sexual imagery is likely to be taken literally, and even the understanding of the storyline can change: Salaryman comes into contact with Fetishist; catches something from him which is then passed onto both the women he comes into contact with who then die - his girlfriend being killed by lovemaking; finally the whole world is at risk of becoming “the dust of the universe”. Another possible interpretation of the film is that over-industialisation will eventually destroy the natural world. This would be suggested by the images of steelworks and concrete, and what the characters become. If this view is taken, then the interpretation of the sexual imagery could be changed to fit. It could be said that the scene where Girlfriend is drilled to death is symbolic of life no longer being able to function properly (procreation is impossible) as technology has taken over nature.
It could be argued that all these interpretations of parts of the film go together, and that as a new idea is expressed, it affects the viewers overall interpretation of the film. It is my belief though, that with a film like this, the viewer makes a conscious effort to try to understand what is going on, and when they have found a suggested meaning, will try to see if the rest of the film fits around it. Also it is possible for the viewer to rethink their interpretation of the film, and then smaller details of the film will be seen in a different light. Therefore imagery and dialogue not only affect the meaning of the film interpreted by the audience, but are themselves affected by this meaning.
As well as the sound and imagery being used for the viewer to gain a meaning from the film, they also go towards giving the film a unique identity. Some of the style seems to be groundbreaking, but there are elements that can be linked with more established styles of film and theatre. There are elements of traditional Jidai-Geki (period drama, usually concerning samurai) within the film, particularly vocally. Often the speech in “Tetsuo” is more impactive in terms of sound than meaning. A good example of this is the frequently used "Sa, Koi!" (“Come on!”) which though having little meaning, still has a bold effect in the film. There are also many vocal effects used without words, such as howling in anger or pain, shouting inarticulate noises, and hysterical laughing. This can be seen in older Japanese films such as “Rashomon”. This has also moved over into manga animations to such a degree that it is used in almost all of them. In the West this can be seen in cartoons such as “The Simpsons” (“Doh!”) and “Ren and Stimpy”, but is rarely used in live action.
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