Beck Movie Recap

Rock music + cool guys = BECK

Okay, so I’m not into rock music but c’mmon! Turning my back against these great-looking casts?! Oh no! NOT in this lifetime baby. Haha!

Movie Recap

Tanaka Yukio (Sato Takeru), fondly called “Koyuki”, is a high schooler who lives an impossibly boring life. His undeniable push-over image, most often than not, made him the favorite target of Hyuoda Group, the  infamous school hooligans.

Koyuki: I’m only 16 years old but I already know how my life will look like. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow… everyday… without any changes.

That’s right. I’m a boring guy. I was wondering if I’ll always lead this kind of boring life… until I met this one guy….

Nope, not this guy! You see, this is how it happened.

One typically boring day, Koyuki rescues a dog (Beck) from ugly ruffians.  Oh yes! This movie is about a band named after a freakin’ dog! Oops got a little excited here. Moving on, and of course, the ruffians get angry and starts to pick on him instead. Just then… a cool guy steals the spotlight. Cool Guy threatens the bad guys with a gun, but since he’s just using a TOY GUN, Cool Guy earns some beating himself. Haha!

Yeah. Cool Guy is THE Guy… Minami Ryusuke “Ray” (Mizushima Hiro)!

Ryusuke is  a talented rock band guitarist from New York. He’s friends with Eddy, a popular foreign guitarist of the band, Dying Breed. He rocked Koyuki’s boring world, and is pretty much the main reason why Koyuki started to love rock and guitars. However, becoz of a clumsy accident, Ryusuke was forced out of the band. But that didn’t stop him though, as he vowed to form a great band with his bare hands!

And since Koyuki saved Beck, Ryusuke graciously lends him a guitar and agreed to teach him how to play.

The next day… see the difference?! Earphones!

Sick and tired of living the same old boring life, Koyuki suddenly thought of going against the norm, went to the audio room and put Dying Breed’s “Flatliner” on air.

And  because of his one-time rebellious escapade, Koyuki becomes instant best friends with transfer student and another rock music enthusiast, Sakurai Yuji “Saku” (Nakamura Aoi).

Ryusuke is busy putting the pieces of his band together. First off, he seeks the talent of  gorgeously handsome, bleached-haired bassist, Taira Yoshiyuki (Mukai Osamu).

His search for a vocalist then leads him to a tough-looking-goofy-rapper, Chiba Tsunemi (Kiritani Kenta).

Back to Koyuki. Well, his bullied days are far from over.  In fact, he’s now on top of Hyuoda Group’s To Screw Up List! The hooligans kick into action and destroys Ryusuke’s guitar. Oh no, not the guitar! As expected, Ryusuke gets riled up.

Thankfully, Keichi Saito (Takanori Takeyama), a regular customer at Ryusuke’s workplace, helps Koyuki fix the guitar, in exchange for some slavery work!

All the while, Koyuki receives free guitar lessons from Keichi, who BTW is an ex-professional swimmer! That explains the swimming trunks. Tehehe!

Months and some body pains later, the guitar is miraculously fixed. Koyuki summons the courage to tell Ryusuke the good news, but then Ryusuke didn’t even bother to hear him out. This time, Maho (Ryusuke’s sister and Koyuki’s love interest) and Saku butts in to shed some light on Koyuki’s sacrifice.

Ah! This Hyuoda Group can’t just leave Koyuki alone, can they? Good thing, Ryusuke and the rest of the band comes right on time. Thanks to Chiba’s fighting skills, there won’t be any bullying for Koyuki now and forever.

Noticing Koyuki’s calloused fingers and Saku’s drumming potentials, Ryusuke decided to let the two youngsters join the band as back-up members.

The first performance was terrible for UNconfident Koyuki. And in his hour of disheartenment, Maho is ever ready to comfort.

Maho: Koyuki, the time will come when you want to express your feelings too.

And the time finally came. Ryusuke composed a new song dedicated to his sister. The problem is… it doesn’t suit Chiba’s vocals, plus it’s in English! Haha! Koyuki then surprised everyone when he volunteers to sing the song. The band gives him the chance and…

Yup. Just by looking at their bulging eyes, we know Koyuki got THE voice, right? As he sings, Ryusuke, Taira and Saku (except for Chiba, obviously) sees a vision, some kind of prophecy actually, of BECK performing in a multitude of fans.

Dying Breed happens to be in Japan. And as a dear friend, Eddy drops by to check on Ryusuke’s band. The info must have leaked as there were so many people swarming around. When Dying Breed comes in, the crowd went wild. Ryusuke uses this opportunity to test Koyuki’s ethereal vocals.  And just as he predicted, the crowd was instantly enthralled.

Koyuki is on cloud nine. He can’t still believe it! Not only  did he see Eddy in the flesh, he also got a thumbs up from him.

But the ultimate shocker came after the concert, when Maho gave him a goodnight kiss!

Okay, so this is Eiji, Ryusuke’s greatest rival and leader of the new band, Belle Ame. Unfortunately, his band’s manager/ producer devised to hitch  Belle Ame’s popularity with Dying Breed. But somehow, Dying Breed can’t stomach the thought of sharing the stage with “trash”!

Dying Breed  wants BECK. Matt, the lead vocalist, even invited Koyuki to rock the stage with them! Whew… ultimate insult for Belle Ame here.

And this marks the beginning of BECK’s rise to stardom. Their growing popularity eventually leads them to record their own CD! Yay!

I just love this scene. The fist time they see their own CDs on display. The expressions are just priceless!

On that same day, Sato-san came to personally invite BECK in the year’s Greatful Sound (a summer rock festival). Could this be a sign? Is Ryusuke’s vision becoming  a reality?

Ryusuke: In this world, we didn’t really know what people think. But there’s definitely a band that was formed out of a miracle. It cannot be just anybody. Nobody but them.

Good things don’t last long though. Ryusuke gets an unexpected call from Eddy. And it’s bad news! Taira notices the sudden change of mood. And so, Ryusuke shares a horrifying secret about “Lucille”, his guitar. Yeah, rock stars do name their guitars!

Lucille’s original owner is Sunnyboy Waters, the legendary black guitarist. When they were yet punks, Eddy and Ryusuke stole Lucille. Later on, they’ve learned that  Lucille is already owned by Leon Sykes, a dangerous guy who kills for money. Leon wants Lucille back, plus, he wants Eddy to sign an exclusive contract for his recording company.

All the while, Koyuki is also having issues himself. Jealousy and insecurity starts to eat him alive when Yoshito, an artist and Maho’s friend,  made it appear that he’s having a relationship with Maho.

The rest of band then find themselves on rough roads too when the new producer of Greatful Sound (Belle Ame’s producer) orders to remove BECK from the event. He also used some underhanded means to pull out all of BECK’s CDs on the market.

The day of retribution has inevitably come and Ryusuke paid his due when Leon Sykes finally get a hold of him.

For some random twist of fate, Leon Syke’s father happens to be  THE Johnny Lee Davis (famous in the blues music genre). And as a dying persons wish, Ryusuke requested that he play side by side with a legend. Johnny is greatly impressed.  Before Johnny left, he tells his son one important advice. JLD: He’s too good to be dead.

With that, Ryusuke is saved! But Ryusuke interpreted the situation quite differently. He ridiculously thought that his life was spared becoz he’s just a trash unworthy to be killed. Heh?! Ryusuke: How could I create a song that can move people’s heart? Koyuki thinks otherwise.

Koyuki: My world changed when I met you Ryusuke-kun. Before, my everyday life was boring… I thought that would continue forever.

With the band slowly drifting apart and Maho’s supposed “affair” with the other guy, Koyuki is lost in a daze. And just like any other great musicians, he finds comfort in creating a song… “Moon Beams”.

Thanks to Koyuki’s speech (and newly composed song), Ryusuke is back on tracks.  In order for BECK to perform in the rock festival, he made a preposterous deal with Leon Sykes. I’ll just let you know of the details later. Bear in mind, it’s preposterous! And becoz of the absurdity of the deal, Ryusuke is getting more and more uptight. He even had a fight with Chiba.

In addition to jealousy issues, Maho is also torn between fulfilling her dream in New York and having a relationship with Koyuki.

Maho breaksdown in front of Ryusuke. She’s had it! Her brother just can’t understand! Nothing’s change. He’s so darn insensitive. He doesn’t care, even when he sees his band members torn apart!

Ryusuke defends himself. That’s way unfair! He has responsibilities. Ryusuke: I promised Eddy that I won’t stop running until I get to the place we spoke of.

Maho: Ryuskue, you can change.

Taira tries to talk Ryusuke about the misunderstanding with Chiba. But then… Ryusuke: Our band isn’t just for friendship. We have to overcome our problems alone.

Ryusuke also shares some brotherly advice to Koyuki.

Rysuke: I don’t know what happened between the two of you.. but you know, the people who appear strong are actually weaker. My sister looks like this too, but she’s crying a lot.

Thankfully, Chiba has come to his senses and returned for band practice.

The most awaited day has arrived. Time for some rockin’ everybody!

But something’s troubling Ryusuke. Remember the  preposterous deal earlier? Well, it has been revealed. Leon agreed to let them join Greatful Sound, alright. But if they don’t gather more audience that Belle Ame and Malcom, this will be their last performance and will have to disband. Ryusuke will have to work for that guy until he dies. And apart from that, Leon is using him to make Eddy sign the contract.

Chiba starts to panic. There’s no hope for them now. But Ryusuke remains convinced. He still believes in their chances. His vision must be a sign. Chiba couldn’t understand. What vision? He didn’t see any vision! Ryusuke resolves that maybe, Chiba doesn’t belong in BECK.  Now, that’s the last draw. Taira lost his cool.

Taira: There’s no person in BECK that isn’t needed. Chiba loves our band more than anybody else. If Chiba quit, I’ll quit BECK.

Update: Main Stage– Belle Ame with 15, 000 audience…

2nd stage-Malcolm with 10, 000 audience.

Hurt and devastated, Chiba runs away. Ryusuke sobers down and decides to quit. He was wrong to make a deal with Sykes, and now they’ve lost Chiba.

But Koyuki won’t let this moment pass him by.

Koyuki: Don’t you feel anything. The people who went to see BECK’s performance.. I want to tell them this painful feelings now. The meaning of everyone getting this far.

Though tremendously hesitant, Koyuki brave the odds and went on stage… alone. With his determination, Saku and Taira was persuaded to join him. But then, the music seems incomplete. Cue dramatic entrance. Yup, it’s Ryusuke!

Still, something (or someone) is missing. Who could it be?

Ahhh… Chiba. Well, Chiba is among the crowd. Looking from afar, he listens to BECK. And finally! He sees the vision! Without wasting time, he forces himself on stage like a raging madman. Ryusuke smiles. Chiba: Don’t misunderstand. I just came to fulfill the vision.

The good news: BECK is now complete.

The bad news: They need more people! Did I tell you they only have 500 audience?!

Rain pours heavily and Belle Ame needs to take a break. And just to kill time, Sato-san decided to project BECK’s performance on-screen. And becoz  BECK are far better musicians (and, let’s face it, also becoz of some half-naked women dancing at BECK’s stage), Belle Ame’s audience starts to change court (or in this case, change stage). One by one, they go. And just like in Ryusuke’s vision, more than 1500 audience watched BECK perform!

-The End-

Well, it’s safe to conclude that BECK won’t disband.  Koyuki won’t be living a boring life anymore. Ryusuke won’t be working for Leon Sykes all his life, and surely he’ll be able to realize the dream of rocking the stage with Eddy. Happy ending everyone! 🙂