Vibrator (2003) - full transcript
(Japanese with English subtitles) After meeting a handsome truck driver (Nao Omori) in the midst of an urban mini-mart, a 30-something freelance writer (Shinobu Terajima) embarks on a life-changing emotional journey of sexual self-discovery. Ryuichi Hiroki (I Am an S&M Writer, Tokyo Trash Baby) directs this critically acclaimed road movie based on the novel by Mari Akasaka.
A Vibrator Production Committee Presents
March 14th? Japan's extra Valentine
Will your boyfriend
buy you chocolates?
The day for men to show their love
Don't be fooled by the hype,
you morons!
What did I come here for?
Wine?
White, white wine
Not French, but German
So sweet!
Wine, wine? So sweet, so fine!
Why is there no red German wine?
They must make it
But it's usually white
Almost always
Madonna, lovely Madonna
Why is there no red German wine?
They must make it
But it's usually white...
Shut up!
What must people think of you?
They can't think you're normal
A secretary after a party?
No, a secretary doesn't dress like this
Much too casual,
or am I worrying too much?
I want to touch someone
But sometimes I need a reason
I'm scared of people I can't touch
And I'm scared of people who
don't know how to touch
When I feel threatened
I become threatening
My self-defense instinct is so strong
I'm worried I might kill someone
What did I come here for?
Wine?
Booze is my friend
It helps me sleep
The voice of my conscience
or other people's voices...
They melt away when I drink
I fancy some aniseed vodka
but there's none
Alcohol and eating disorders are rife
but they're not in the magazines
Teenage gangsters?
That I can relate to
I knnow how the girls on smack feel
They're nno different to me
Even they want boyfriends
But what about me?
Am I completely alone?
You can feel it, can't you
Those subtle changes under your skin
Many women experience skin damage
But it isn't simply decay!
It's caused by an imbalance
It isn't your fault
You're not withering!
Oh, please!
"Are you tired?"
"Is your skin too dry?"
"Did you gain weight?"
"Are you losing weight?"
Look at the bags under your eyes
Frustrated?
Are you getting any?
You never hear men talking like this
Why do women have to
listen to this crap?
I don't care
I'm me
Maybe it's too late to do
anything about it
Let's get ice cream
Looks Like a fisherman
Tasty, though!
I want him
Good enough to eat!
I wonder what shampoo he uses
Smells nice
Take me, take me!
I'm still alive
Where are you?
I know it's you
Never mind whistling,
come and get me!
I have to go to him
I have to satisfy my appetite
Grab that handle
Welcome
Were you watching me?
From way up here?
Not all the time
I thought you weren't coming
Drink?
It's the hard stuff
Yes, please
Of course I want a drink
I can't do anything sober
Thanks
Can I open these?
They're good
How old are you?
31
Older than me, then
Isn't it obvious?
How about you?
28
I thought you were younger
You were buying wine and gin
Some friends are coming this weekend
But I don't need it yet
It's only Wednesday...
No, it's Thursday
Do you want to watch TV?
OK
I'm afraid someone complained about
the noise of your truck's engine
But it's freezing?
I suppose you can't turn it off
Is there a park or something near here?
I've got a morning delivery
Mr. Okabe?
How do you say your first name?
It's TAKATOSHI
It's a bit unusual
You can park behind the station
Do you mind moving?
OK
Thanks
So you get along with policemen
We're both just doing our jobs
How long have you been a driver?
About 7 years
And before that?
Building contractor's office
Then I bought my first truck, and now
I do pickups with this one
Pick ups?
Like freelance
But why be a truck driver?
I've got no diplomas
I hardly even went to junior high
So much for compulsory education
If I'd graduated junior high
I might have got a certificat e
But I didn t even attend the ceremony
When I first saw you...
I was really taken by your boots
It's always snowing in Niigata
so I need them
It only snows a little bit in Tokyo
What's special about Nigata?
There are lots of furniture factories
I go to Shizuoka too
But mainly Niigata
See that apartment under construction?
I'm delivering doors there
You leave the engine on all night?
Yep
Why not use a kerosene heater
It causes less oxygen here
Well, an electric heater
Or a heated rug
Then I'd need a generator
I want to touch you
Be my guest
I'm scared
Sorry, it sounds stupid
I worry someone I don't know
might turn nasty on me
I'm sorry
I don't know why
It's ridiculous
No one ever hit me
You must think I'm an idiot
I want to touch you
I want to touch you
Do you want to come closer?
There goes my contact lens
You're beautiful
Mr. Takatoshi Okabe
Do you want to know my name?
Just call me Takatoshi
Don't make me sad
REI. It's Rei Ha yakawa
You're beautiful
Call me by my name
Rei. My ray of sunshine
You're so beautiful
In what way?
Like a rosebud
Show me how you touch yourself
I can't do that
Go on, show me
Can you touch your breasts?
Suck it
I love you, I love you, I love you...
Have you got a condom?
Make love to me
If you do that, I'll come too soon
That's OK
Liquor and corn chips
Nothing else to puke up
Take me with you
With me?
Yep
OK
With a travelling companion
The world smiles upon you
Are we going to Niigata
No, Kawaguchi
Kawaguchi?
I have to load some tires
Can't run empty
Do you find the work yourself?
No, a company assigns it
I thought it was your own business
It's not like being an employee
But it's easier to get the right papers
if you sign on under a company
All of these?
Of course it's all of them
Here
Put this behind you
Show me your dick
No, it's soft
So what?
I'll show you when it's hard
Why?
To see it at its best
Hard or soft, it's still you
Are you serious?
Love me, love me, love me...
Are we off to Niigata now?
Yep
On the expressway?
No, we only use regular roads
If we use the expressway
we have to pay ourselves
I see
I know you said you want to
come with me...
Yeah...?
Actually, I'm married
So?
I don't care
But there was a little hesitation there!
I was once with a girl who ended up
nearly stalking me
In fact she's never given up
It's a bad situation
And she's so intense
What do you do?
Me? I write
Articles for magazines and stuff
Do you work for a company?
Freelance
A bit like me
So you only get paid if you write?
What's so good about truck driving?
It doesn't tie you down
Well, now the economy is in trouble
But before it was easy money
Freelance truckers used to carry
smack hidden in frozen tuna
You couldn't ask a big company
to carry stuff like that
The dirver must be someone you trust
They get to know you through
friends of friends
And they make sure you're
all above board
If not the goods could end up stolen
The stuff arrives frozen
somewhere in Kyushu
Even the sniffer dogs can't find it
when it's frozen
After it comes ashore
the dealers step in
By dealers I mean the Yakuza
And they tell me where to take it
They pay for the expressway
I got 500,000 cash
When I get to the drop off I hand the
stuff to the customer
Do they tell you what you carried?
Yeah, they say do you want cash
or do you want the smack
I took the cash
I don't do smack
Do some people choose the drugs?
Of course
A lot of the Kyushu truckers do
It helps them stay awake on the road
When did you get married?
3 years ago
Any kids?
Yep
Boy or girl?
Girl
Is she cute?
We're not so close
I'm hardly ever home
Is that so...
Not very often
Haulage jobs come one after another
so they clash with going home
You call it "haulage"
That, or "on the road"
If you make a round trip
you're in Tokyo half the time
Where do you stay?
There's a place at the company HQ
But I hardly ever go there
My truck is my house
What do you call this space?
That's the bunk
Can I try it?
If you want
You can really stretch out here!
It has to be big enough for me
I suppose your stalker knows
that you're married
Makes no diff erence, she's in a
world of her own
"I'm the only one who
understands you"
Who does she think she is?
Someone always on the move like me
can't figure out a person like that
I might meet someone really cool here
but then someone in Sendai
Then I might go to Kyushu
and meet an even better person
Can I use this?
Yep
An office worker gets married and
that's the only person they see
They start fooling around at the office
and thats called "an affair"
But they don't know anything except
work and home
I got a call from an ambulance
the other day
The stupid bitch had slit her wrists!
She said she wouldn't get in unless
the paramedics contacted me!
So I told her on the phone
"Go ahead and die"
To someone who just slit their wrists?
I was the victim!
I think she should have put her hands
in a bucket of water
That would finish her off quicker
Did you date her?
Of course not
Well, I gave her a ride in the truck
because she wanted to
I thought it might keep her quiet
But it made her worse, and she got
my phone number and address
After that she never stopped calling
I was furious so I called her old man
And he says 'I'm so sorry, you can
punch her lights out if it'll help"
But if I did that I'd get thrown in jail
Did you hit her?
Certainly did
With your fist
How else?
Where?
At her house
If you hate her why'd you go there?
Watch where you're going, asshole
With a travelling companion
The world smiles upon you
Mount Akagi...
Is this Route 17?
No, 353
Even at night Maebashi gets jammed
because of the traffic lights
So we'll go over Mt. Akagi
and avoid the crush
Any body listening, over?
Big Blue hearing you loud and clear
We're heading down 353 to Niigata
How's the snow looking?
Roads are iced over at Numata
Radio?
Yeah, I want to check the best route
This is Northland from Hokkaido
That's unusual
What?
It's hard to pick up signals from so far
when the weather's like this
Summertime is clearer because the
signals bounce off the ionosphere
It's amazing
They're so far, and yet right here,
entering our perception
If the signal's strong it sounds
even closer
And in a good location normal signals
can travel miles
I said "perception" but
he heard 'reception"
And if y ou ask "Who's out there? '
You get replies like 'Tokyo Buddy"
or "Off-Roader here" all at once
What's 'A offroder?"
Oh! "Off-Roader"
You can choose the strongest signal
So someone says ' Go ahead, Tokyo"
but there are loads of people
And you get a bunch of replies again
So you pick out the strongest signal
Hey! Narita Sightseer here
Good evening to you, Narita Sightseer
He's a radio buddy, another driver
Why "Narita Sightseer"?
It's his handle, a radio nick name
But he's a truck driver
Yep
Northbound on Route 17
Can you hear me, Minakami, over?
Merit 5 southbound on Rout e 17, over
But why does he use that handle?
Most peop e use illegal wavelengths
so they can't use their real name
Illegal?
Up to 0.5 watts is legal
Anything else is illegal
I use 2 kilo watts!
0.5 watts?
Like a walkie-talkie, and very weak
Most people use a booster system
What other kinds of radio are there?
There's Amateur and Personal
Such a lot of snow in Tokyo this year
It snowed again today
Amateur radio is called Ham, right?
Yeah, "CQCQ this is 1212" and so on
My truck's electrics packed up today
The lights, the heater, everythinng
I had to use the expressway
What does CQ mean?
Yeah, but they all start working
the minute you go to get them fixed!
Some people say it's short for
"Seek you"
Others say it means "Come Quick"
It's the code for finding a buddy
I was going to drive the Miitsubishi
but it isn't fixed yet
Mitsubishi?
Yeah, Mitsubish Fuso
That happened to me once
The ignition key causes a short
It's one of their weak points
I thought Fuso was
a separate company
No, it's Mitsubishi
Is this truck a Mitsubishi
No, Hino
Sightseer, it said there's a big party
near Akagi
Making a rocks lade barrier
You better hurry
A party?
Road construction
So it'll be down to one lane
More than likely
Do you only use the CB?
The CB is fun
In what way?
People strugging for a strong signal
It's a bit of a power game
Its not the same with Persona
Thats just like talking on the phone
Hey there, this is a rendezvous
with Narita Sightseer
Rendezvous?
Talking with 3 or more people
Who can I hear in the background?
Another channel
It's stronger than this one
They're not so close
but the signal's strong
Or we might be blocking them
Damn! I wish I'd brought a porno mag
That guy's a laugh!
There's a lot of stuff like that
Sounds lik e a drunken conversat on
I want to watch you
I don't want to go out for the bathroom
Just a second
Yeah, it's OK
It's OK, I was washing the dishes
Look, a boat
It's a Russian ship
Is this a port?
Yeah, I have to drop off the tires
It's still early
Let's get some sleep
My body was willing...
But my heart was holding back
All right then, do it yourself
You're wet enough
Why are you ignoring me?
He noticed
I can feel your asshole squeezing
I've got a lump in my throat
Just like when I throw up my food
It's freezing
When I worked for the Yakuza
I was the boss' assistant
I did all sorts of work for them
Answering the office phone
Checking up on the clubs
My pager would ring
and I'd go to one of the bars
Then I'd squeeze money out of the
drunken cust omers
How did you put the squeeze on them?
First I fooled them into thinking
they just needed to pay us of f
Then I d take their name card
out of their wallet
Take a few snapshots of them with
some hostess and demand 100,000!
Then next time they're out on the town
We make use of the photos
Threaten them to show the
pictures to other people
"We know where your family lives"
"We're not threatening you"
"500,000 will take care of it"
That s as far as we'd go
When did you leave the Yakuza?
I did it less than 2 years
It doesn t take long for me
to lose interest
Then I was a pimp for some call girls
That was boring, and we got caught
What for?
Prostitution
What kind of operation was it?
The punter sees a flier in a phone box
and they call us
We ask what kind of girl they want
'OK. Be waiting in the coffee shop'
Where we operated the coff ee shop
was the Half Moon
"The girl will have blonde hair"
' You'll soon recognize her"
Then they'd meet
Hello
Yes, thank you
You like her?
OK, we'll need a cash advance
Remember the time
If she's not back after 2 hours
we'll have to come and get her
We don't want that to happen, do we?
It wasn't me who was arrested
It was the person below
After that I was asked to run a bar
But I wanted a proper job
You were about 19 then?
You said you worked in a
building contractor's office
That was after leaving school
Maybe earlier
I wasn't at school much
Spent more time in hospital!
Did you never sell drugs?
No never
Did you ever do them?
Maybe once or twice
But they never did much for me
I was out of my tree on glue
Ah, a glue head!
It wasn't that I liked it
Just couldn't give up
At that age I had no money for drugs
We'd break into the rubber factory
and steal 2 or 3 drums of thinners
We could sell it for big money
You've done it all!
You never know what's interesting
if you don't try it
Mind you, doing glue is a fool's game
But I can say that because I tried it
What else have you done?
What else?
Nothing special
You're not exactly normal
And you?
What?
What did you get up to?
Only drinking and puking up food
Puking?
People who starve themselves
are called anorexic
And people who gorge themselves
are called bulimic
I interviewed one girl and she
described herself as "bulimorexic"
She would stuff herself and then puke
A combination of the two conditions
So I asked her why she did it
I suppose I have no self-confidence
I have a lot of stress and instability
That's why I overeat
But I don't want to gain weight
and be called fat
So I started making myself sick
I started thinking that if I vomited
it wou d be OK in the morning
I was so relieved
I slept like a baby
But I was fooling myself
I started drinking to help me sleep
That made me gain weight
So I started making myself sick
It was awful at first
But I really slept wel that night
You were insomniac?
The voice inside my head disturbs me
There are three advantages
You eat and it tastes good, then puke
You'll be slim and sleep well
It became a sort of hobby
You're strange
But I haven't puked since yesterday
Please wait at the Half Moon
You'll recognize the girl
She has bright red hair
So they meet
You like her? Great!
We'll need a cash advance
Excuse me, sir
I told you we'd come looking
if she didn't come back
You won't believe what he did
Oh yeah?
What exactly did you do to my girl?
We're not running an S&M club
What do you mean
It was hard for me too
She was saying "More, more!"
But you'd know about that
Give me the key to the handcuffs
This isn't violence
I have every right to do this
You didn't treat her nicely
You didn't keep your promise
You understand?
Fucking bastard
Do you want to go for desert?
I'm thinking of giving up the CB
Why?
I was asked to become
a local Club Leader
I've been doing it for years
and I have a lot of contacts
So why not do it?
The organizers are all Yakuza
It's such a pain
Can I have a smoke?
They like to all get together
Parties at hot springs
I can't be bothered
They ask "How's things in
your neck of the woods?"
Who cares? They think
they're in ' The Godfather'
If I did go I would borrow a truck
But they'd all be in Mercedes
Dressed in tasteless suits
"You look a bit out of place
What do you drive?"
' Actually, a truck"
"Oh! A trucker?"
I can't stand them
Let's buy a drink
In the summer they go to the beach
And the Club Leaders go round
letting people have a go on the CB
Why do the Yakuza get involved?
It's the competition for the airwaves
There's power struggles even with CB
There are all these fractions
And the strongest wins
The Yakuza like a finger in every pie
They're like leeches
Are they people not in the club?
Not for CB
You have to be a member
And everyone is in a different channel
People are friendly in my club
That's channel 15
Some channels, lik e channel 6,
have a kind of inner circle
Lots of hardcore members
Some people shoot up on the air
Their handles are strange too
"Nick the Needle" and stuff
Can you hear the police?
No
When I was in a bike gang we
stole one from a police car
That and a flashing light
We sold them to a Nationalist group
Hotplate check ahead
Thank s for the report
I'll make a detour
Hotplate check?
Weigh bridge checkpoint
This is a 4 ton truck but I m carrying 6
A report" means a checkpoint
We have to use code words
A speed trap is "S meter', a patrol car
sa 'panda", stuff like that
I see
Do you want to try?
Pretend you're me
How?
Use this and no one will know
What s this?
A voice converter
I don't really like them
It' s on permanent loan
Switch on and put together with the mike
But if they don't know who its
they'll be worried
They'll know by my handle
They'll think I'm fooling around
What's your handle?
"Storm"
Go ahead
This is Storm
I feel like I' ve disappeared
Hows it going?
Sorry, can't hear you!
He was still talking
Breaker, breaker
Can you hear a really faint signal?
What?
Can't you hear it?
Sorry, I can't
I've found a great bar
Anyone want to go?
Let's meet at the truck stop
Hawaii, Hawaiii
That girl was a bitch all right
I want to do it with your wife
What time?
I don't rennt out, you know
Tango alpha, queen, queen
11 o'clock? Oh God!
Are you on the expressway?
What time?
Now let's hear some e-mail messages
from our listeners
Did you turn the radio on?
Nope
Can I put it on?
If you want
The reception m ght be bad
With the CB there are pauses
I'm tired of waiting
I can hear my own voice
Mixed with the voice converter
Can I put FM on?
Yes. But a CD is be tter
No
It's the first time I've experiennced
love at first sight
But it was the same for mom and dad
And then we have the famous
Tennessee Waltz...
Is it raining?
A song
Let's see who our guests are next time
Next week we have a photographer
Annd the week after an actress
It's the first time to invite an actress
I look forward to seeing them here
There'll also be Miho
We were at a concert together...
There it is!
The voice I heard before
Did I hear the radio even though
it wasn't turned on?
Let's get changed
It's gym class next
Put your arms in the sleeves
Now stretch
God, it's so annoying
Yoshi can't think much of Kannako
if he's two-timing her
I think it's Ukai from basketball club
All of that part equals "x"
That girl really annoys me
Should we send her to Coventry?
Yeah.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I'm going to puke
What?
Be sick
I feel bad
A, B, C, D, E, F, G...
Why aren't you going to school?
I want to see a shrinnk
If you hate the school you can
move to another one
Maybe it's not the best idea
People would talk
You could stay with Grandpa
Why did I move to the country?
It's for your own good
What's more important,
your daughter or school?
What are you tryinng to protect?
I'm going to throw up
I feel awful
Hold on
When people rush to my rescue
at the drop of a hat I feel...
...so happy
It's the omnipotence of a child
What am I doing?
I'm 31 years old
I'm going to be sick
Listen, I'm not f eeling so good
so I'm signing off
Why did you do that?
To cut transmission
By whistling?
There are a lot of methods
It stops others from worrying
Are you OK?
Don't touch me!
Can't throw up. How come?
I feel like shit
I feel hypersensitive
So don't touch me
Please
I feel like shit
Stop it
I feel like shit
It's ready
Is it too cold?
Just right
I've got sensitive skin now
I can't stand hot water
I wonder...
Why this man...
Understands me
His kindness isn't just sympathy
It's the real thing
He's even kind when he doesn't
feel sympathetic
He touches soft things with care
Like you would handle a peach
Cold shoulders
We're like animals
Acting on instinct
Some people don't know how to
handle something softly
He's so nice
If I stayed with him he'd be mine
If I fall in love I'll cry
Don't be stupid
Who cares about his wife
I like him
Just let me drown
What are y ou doing?
Drown
Hit me
Why?
So I know how the stalker felt
I lust after the hand that smites!
I can't hit you
I can't hit someone I like
I have no idea...
...what you're talking about
Mother
I'll never understand you
You're quiet
Are you tired?
It's so bright
That pachinko parlour's closed down
Old men having their morning coffee
Jesus! Watch where you're walking
That was a bit of a shock
You should eat
You wouldn't want me to be sick again
As long as you're not sick in the truck
If you don't eat,
there's nothing to puke up
You're saying things like
"It's bright" or "This is route 5"
Looking at the people and saying
"The old men having morning coffee"
I know
You'd say those things even if
I wasn't in the truck
I suppose so
So I don't have to answer every time
No
You said you liked me
Yes, I like y ou
How about you?
Do you like me?
Yes, I do
You can stay with me if you want
Thanks
But there's a man waiting
in my apartment
I told him I was just going to buy wine
You're joking
He's been waiting all this time?
Yep
Wow, what a man
Well, I met you
I'm kidding
There's no man
You re the same, right?
You're not married, are you?
No
No wife, no kid, no stalker
I thought so
It's true
Do you want to drive?
Me?
You have a license don't you?
Yeah
You can drive a 4 ton with it
Are you sure?
Of course
I don't think so
Yes you can
You'll be OK
I'll keep an eye on you
You can start n second on the fat
It's got a lot of torque so second's OK
Give it some throttle
A bit more
Let in the clutch and shift up
And again
Throttle
Take that exit
Thats it, turn
We're OK, straight out
The landscape peels away before us
Our skin is chafed
Shall we pull in there?
Remember the position of the wheels
as you turn
A bit more, and more
Left hand winker
That's the exhaust brake
The winker is on the right
Start turning right now
A bit more right
Just do as I say
A bit more right
Then sharp left
Left, and down a gear
Bit of brake
Hard to the left
Don't touch the gears
Don't touch the throttle
And straight en the wheel
That was fucking brilliant!
Shall I drive us back?
The voices in my head have gone
I suppose they'll be back
But for now they're gone
He was good enough to eat
But he ended up consuming me
That was all
But...
I felt as if I'd turned into
something good
You say you want
to become something
I still love you even if you're no one
I say this to you
I who am no one
Shinobu TERAJIMA as Rei
Nao OHMORI as Takatoshi
Tomorrow TAGUCHI as Policeman
You say that
something is missing
Though your body is
bathed in light
Producer
Akira MORISHIGE
Screenplay
Haruhiko ARAI
Cinematographer
Kazuhiro SUZUKI
Music Producer
Hikaru ISHIKAWA
Sound
Akira FUKADA
Production Design
China HAYASHI
Based on a novel written by
Mari AKASAKA
The light of falsehood
cannot pierce the heart
Directed and Edited by
Ryuichi HIROKI
All rights reserved by
Vibrator Production Committ ee, 2003
English Subtitles by
Dean GASCOIGNE & spiral