Moon Child – 2003 – Japan
Moon Child is hard to describe, but I’m going to do it. It’s a Japanese movie about gangsters, vampires, and friendship set in a futuristic version of China following a societal collapse. It stars Gackt and Hyde, two ultra beautiful, male pop stars. During its two-hour run time, it gradually transforms from a gangster action movie to a tear-jerking drama. Hold on. I’m already screwing this up. Let me start over.
China, the year 2027. It’s the future, but it doesn’t look futuristic. A vampire named Kei and a teenage orphan named Sho make money by delivering drugged pizzas to various gangs and then robbing their hideouts. There are some flashy gunfights (including kung fu and Matrix-like slow motion). One tragic day, a friend of Kei and Sho’s is killed in a gang retaliation, and Kei goes feral, revealing his identity as a vampire. The movie skips ahead several years. Sho is an established crook with a cool car and fancy clothes, Kei is in jail for some reason, and their lives are falling apart. Sho is in a bloody gang feud with one of his childhood friends, and his wife has a brain tumor. Kei escapes prison to help Sho sort himself out. Together, they shoot up a rival gang, including Sho’s childhood friend. Sho is fatally wounded, but his life is saved when Kei turns him into a vampire. The movie skips ahead several years again. Sho is living in hiding as a vampire while Kei raises Sho’s teenage daughter. In the final scene, Sho and Kei drive out to the ocean and commit an idyllic, romantic, happy suicide by watching the sun rise.
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