Moon Child

Plot synopsis:
In the year 2014, Japan suffers a major economic collapse and people are forced to emigrate to mainland China. The movie introduced the story with two vampires, Kei and Luka, of whom the first was probably made a vampire by the former, and in later Kei's flashback is revealed that Luka decided to end his existence by watching the sunrise. Three orphaned boys live in a fictional Chinese city called Mallepa, a 'melting pot' of different Asian groups. They are named Shō (Gackt), Shinji (Susumu Terajima) who is Sho's brother, and Toshi (Tarô Yamamoto). All three survive through pickpocketing. During a theft gone wrong, Sho meets Kei (Hyde) - a vampire who appears to be a young man - sitting amidst a pile of debris and brings him back to the orphan's hideout. When the orphans are attacked by a man they previously robbed Kei attacks, kills, and feeds off of their attacker thereby revealing his status as a vampire to the orphans. However, Sho approaches him, unafraid.
Several years later, Sho is in his twenties, leading a band of thieves consisting of Kei and Toshi. During one of the robberies against another gang, they cross paths with a Taiwanese named Son (Leehom). Son is going after the gang because their leader raped his sister, Yi-Che (Zeny Kwok). Sho, Kei, Son and Toshi all become friends, and Sho quickly and awkwardly falls in love with Yi-Che though it is implied that she in turn harbors feelings for Kei. Toshi is murdered by the local mafia for helping Sho and Kei in their heists by using drugged pizza to sedate their targets. Soon, through this experience, Son and Yi-Che learn that Kei is a vampire.
Nine years later, Kei has left the band and Sho is head of his district in Mallepa and is married to Yi-Che. Son has joined Mr. Chan, the leader of the opposing mafia of Mallepa and is now Sho's enemy. Kei, who is revealed to be in prison for murder, makes several death sentence pleas; Sho goes to visit him in prison after seeing a news report about him on TV. During Sho's visit at the prison, he reveals to Kei that he had to propose to Yi-Che several times before she agreed because she was really in love with Kei. The couple now have a daughter together whom they named "Hana". After spending the entire conversation in silence, Kei states that he feared Sho, who had been reckless, was dead and that he is glad he is not.
Yi-Che develops a fatal cancerous brain tumor. Soon after the diagnosis, Sho's men are killed on the streets in broad daylight while Sho is away. Sho's brother, Shinji, is also killed when he points at gun at Mr. Chan while in a drug induced haze. Sho calls Kei and begs him to return. After speaking to Kei he is told that Kei had been sentenced to death, something Kei had actually requested. Kei, however, escapes his execution and returns to help his friend. Sho asks Kei to turn Yi-Che into a vampire so she will be around for the sake of Hana (their young daughter). Kei refuses angrily, but agrees to face Mr. Chan with Sho. He promises Sho that if anything happens to him, he will take care of Hana.
When they go to face Mr. Chan, Mr. Chan is shot by two of his own while Sho faces off with Son. Their battle comes down to a 'count to three and shoot' match when they are both down to only one bullet. Sho's gun misfires and he is shot in the chest by Son. Kei arrives on the scene and Son faces his own death by pointing his empty gun at Kei, who is enraged at the sight of his injured friend and fires at Son. Kei goes to Sho, who appears to die dramatically in Kei's arms.
In 2045, Hana is grown up and heading off to college. She says goodbye to Kei, who raised her in Sho's absence and it is implied that she is aware of Kei being a vampire. Before she leaves she mentions the feeling of someone watching her, and after her departure Sho appears as a vampire, thanking Kei for taking care of her all these years because he couldn't face what he had become. Together the two men drive to the beach and await the rising sun together to face death. The movie concludes with the entire gang back together at the beach in the daylight (something not possible for Kei in the past), presumably reunited in the afterlife or as reincarnations of themselves in another life.

Tags: tragedy, revenge, murder, violence, romantic

Review:
I did not expect the performances of Gackt and Hyde to be as well done as they were, nor did I expect them to be cast in such an artistic well-developed movie with enough plot to keep you interested and enough diversity to make it original.
The two stars of the movie Moon Child Gackt (ex Malice Mizer, solo artist) and Hyde (L'arc en Ciel, solo artist) are both rock idols in Japan, so it goes without saying that my expectations were fairly low for this film heading in.The plot is quite a piece of work.
But the story isn't actually about the vampire, it's about Sho (Gackt).The movie opens with Sho, his brother Shinji and Toshi as children innocently robbing a local gangster.
Sho walking into machine gun fire is so ridiculous it makes Rambo look plausible.I also had a few qualms about the performances, especially Hyde's Kei. While he was good as the stranger standing aloof, or the morbid figure smiling dully, he failed to convince me of his 'curse', and he failed to step up when it came time to be dramatic.
Moon Child is a unique experience and though it takes some getting used to, when all is said and done, you'll be glad you invested time and emotion in these characters..
The few reviews I read that WEREN'T made by squealing fangirls were not very promising.When I was given the opportunity to watch it, I was fully prepared to groan, wince, and otherwise need to close my eyes to avoid the silliness.I was more than a little surprised, and in a good way.Yes, Moon Child has its moments of cheese, camp, and general dorkiness -- I think that's kind of impossible to avoid when it involves Gackt Camui, a man not known for his sanity -- but all in all, it was wholly enjoyable.No, it is not a work of cinema genius but it is very, very heartfelt, amusing, with fun choreography, a touching score, and a fun cast.
I know little of Japanese cinema so I can't really judge the acting but considering the fact that the cast was speaking a language or extreme dialect foreign to them at one time or another and that a couple of them have almost no acting experience, I was rather impressed.If you can enjoy a good action movie, a good drama, a good comedy, see this film.
I was only expecting a cheesy movie promoting Gackt's and Hyde's image, but I'm glad to say it has much more to offer.Yes, the acting is not that great, but it doesn't suck either, all the cast's well disciplined and they bring enough strength to their characters.
The element of vampirism - which I love, but is very easy to overdo or to ruin a movie with - is subtly mixed into the storyline as to make it something merely exotic, normal to this setting, rather than a random unnecessary addition to the story.
I found this to be one of the best vampire movies I've watched in a long time..
Gackt himself has said that the story in this film ties into the stories he tells through his music and works (the Crescent, moon, mars, diabolos) albums tie together with this movie which was also written by Gackt.The ending song in this movie is totally worth it.
Moon Child's story starts with Kei - a Japanese vampire, who loathes what he has become and lives in denial.
A big praise to the editor for creating this masterpiece...A last comment on this brilliant movie, is that it stars Gackt (ex-vocalist of Malice Mizer) and Hyde (vocalist of L'Arc~en~ciel) in excellent roles as Sho and Kei. I am amazed at how Gackt can change his way of speaking and acting depending on what age he is acting out.This is a must see.
Being a huge fan of the Japanese singers Gackt and Hyde, I was terribly excited when I found out that they had made a film together and made it my mission in life to see it.
Knowing that both Gackt and Hyde are singers rather than actors, I was prepared for brave yet not really that fulfilling performances, but am delighted to say that both of them managed to keep me captivated and believing the story as it went on.
Throw a vampire into the mix to spice things up, and the film actually feels a bit more than generic, but alas its second half proves that it is, in fact, nothing more than a generic gangster movie.As an action film, the movie fails badly.
This scene states the most important breaking point of Moon Child, which bridge between the past and the destiny of Gackt's character "Sho".
Like they tried to put cool thing such as vampire, gangster, love and friendship in this film.
Moon child combines sci-fi, drama, and action with the perfect cast and talent to create the most sensationally moving movie of the time, and great for most audiences.
Moon Child is touted by its producers as a "wildly entertaining hybrid of futuristic science-fiction, John Woo-style gunplay and Gothic vampire horror." I found it to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
Terrible acting, writing, and direction prove that pop stars should not be allowed to write or star in movies; the characters are underdeveloped and generate absolutely no sympathy -- in fact, the viewer is hard pressed to care if they live or die; the plot is all over the place; the special effects are cheap.
Unless you are already familiar with the pop stars who star in this film, save yourself the time and stop reading this review after you've reached the end of the next sentence.FORGET YOU EVER STUMBLED UPON THIS FILM AND GO WATCH SOMETHING ELSE.But if you insist on reading, consider: Lame vehicle for Japanese teen idol pretty-boys featuring nonsensical, convoluted "plot" that drags out for an insufferable amount of time until you're ready to scream.Nothing in this film makes sense.
You'll be revolted at having spent all this time watching them smile, sneer, cry, look mysterious, be "serious," and any other pointless expression they slap on their faces.That some moron would ever go so far as to refer to this piece of insipid trash as being the "soul" of any of its "actors" should prove to you beyond the shadow of a doubt what the trailer and countless adoring comments on this site will not tell you: Only the "converted," mindless minions will like this film, the majority of them teenage girls with a pathological adoration for anything androgynous.
It's so over the top and nonsensical it's almost like a parody of supernatural action films.The movie has almost no plot here, except it's just about vampires with gangster friends.
O.k., so even if the main character reminds you of your sister, he can act.Gackt plays Sho, a juvenille who has trained with Kei, (hyde) which is a vampire.
It may be possible that the cultural difference makes me rate it lower than I would, say, an American film, but really, what a long, boring, pretentious, often ridiculous film!First you have the two protagonists, Japanese pop singers, both dyed blond, Gackt (please attempt to ignore the name sounds like something a Klingon would eat) wearing blue contact lenses, trying to look cooler than God. I could buy that.
Occasionally, they remain out of ammo and reload their guns by throwing ammo clips to one another.The thing is that if you ignore the vampire angle (which is very very easy, since not much of the lore is used in the film) and the future angle (which is also very easy: just remove the two captions showing the year), then the movie becomes a coming of age, clan gang story.
With great performance from Gackt, Hyde and other actors and a splendid sense of humor I can nothing but love this movie.
Though it is sometimes very funny Moon child is also a very tragical and sad story and if one does not think that these things mentioned are enough to make it the best movie ever, one should also listen to the masterpiece soundtrack to the film, which is more than great.
Hyde and Gackt are marvelous as Kei and Sho and the way the script just leaves you thinking about how they feel and why they do and say the things they do is typical for Japanese movies I guess, one of the things I love best about it.
Well I have to say I was surprised, The acting is phenomenal, Gackt can be completely hilarious and so serious it's almost scary and Hyde's detached mysterious manner added to the feel of the film.
Gackt and Hyde both are surprisingly good actors and compliment each other well throughout the film.When I first started watching, I was put off by the jarring pace; however, the movie smooths out fairly quickly and becomes extremely engaging.
The interaction between Sho [Gackt] and Kei [Hyde], however, is what makes the movie.
Filled with moments of happiness, sadness, light horror, and uber kawaii-ness, Moon Child, about a vampire and the group of friends he makes, is the epitome of celebrities who can act.
On the part of Gackt Camui, the role of Sho was excellently delivered, and HYDE was surprisingly good for his first film as the tortured yet humorous vampire, Kei. I also laughed and cried at the happy-go-lucky character, Toshi, who grew up with Sho. I loved each and every second of this this film, especially moments such as the funny Cigarette scene, the fighting scenes, and most of all, the heartrenching ending..
The fact that these characters are members of a street gang set in an multicultural city of the near future and that one of them is a vampire does not preclude them from having moments like any other people, and this is one of the places where this movie is different to anything else I've ever heard of.
Which, I suppose, brings me to the lead actors.Much has been made of the fact that the movie stars two of Japan's biggest rockstars, Gackt and Hyde, as well as Taiwanese superstar Lee-hom Wang, whether it is to praise them for their acting or criticise it or simply fangirl about them.
I wasn't sure if Hyde's character was supposed to be as sulky and sarcastic as he came across, but it doesn't really detract from the movie either way.There are several scenes which take rather melodramatic turns, which made it difficult for them to affect me much emotionally (Although this doesn't seem to stop a lot of people).
Nevertheless, I think Moon Child should be a movie everyone should consider watching.
Hmm, so I'll start with the bad: the wardrobe, mis-cast skinny gay boy-band main cast, and an incredibly camp older Toshi all adding up to make the opening 30 minutes a cringe-worthy attempt at a cool homo-acceptance action/drama for teenage boys unsure of their sexuality.Sitting through this said period (if it's not been turned off already), the strong homosexual over-tones become less tedious and are replaced instead by the wondering if this group of young men are even supposed to be gay, via the introduction of a female love interest.At this point I expected the two main characters to have a showdown due to the realisation of their bi-sexuality, but it never (thankfully) occurred.For those without a clue as to what this film is indeed about, well, it's kind of a drama spanning years of the lives of two men - one, an ever-lasting blood-sucker, and the other, a Scarface wannabe with a John Woo influence and Boy George hairdo.So, what we end up with is a gangster/teen flick about friendship with a vampire thrown into the mix for great justice...
When I first rented it, I didn't know that Gackt and Hyde would be the starring roles, and after watching it, I was happily surprised at how great their acting was.
It was an all around great movie, especially for those who like Gackt and Hyde, and/or Japanese culture.
Hyde and Gackt were great in the movie and you could just fall in love with their characters :) lol I think the storyline was really good too.
I almost cried when I watched it...it can be pretty violent with all the gun play featured in the movie, but it's also very sad....but then there's also some humor just seeing Gackt and Hyde acting silly and what-not :) You should really check out this movie!!
I Don't Know What To Say. For honest this movie are great movie from Japan, even the story line are almost same with what I've seen on many Japan's anime.Hyde and Gackt played well and natural, they're both not just a good singer but also good actors and so was everybody whom played in MOON CHILD, except Wang Lee Hom. Wang Lee Hom acted was so bad, even he was a good singer.
(get me right here, all of you who are his fans, I love him very much, maybe just as much as you all do, and maybe somehow a bit more))))....I do not know.....he is the one who makes me feel dizzy, because of whom DEATH seems such a wonderful and sweet fruit, though forbidden one......(I guess no one can understand this) That movie calls for waves of emotions - I could not understand it until the end of the movie - why was I speaking to the characters - I do not do that often, when I watch movies, even when I watch them on my own...for that - film must be truly sympathetic and touch you deeply - it must be very powerful in the emotive way.
The pop singers Hyde and Gackt do a good job in acting and are very believable as friends.
I'm a fan of both actors/singers especially Gackt and when I first discover this movie and watch the trailer,I just think this is a silly one.After a long waiting time,I watched it at last and here's my comment...I consider everyone knows the storyline and not going to mention about it,instead of it my first applause goes to acting,generally that Japanese movies hasn't got brilliant and acting.Yet in MoonChild's all cast is simply wonderful and got into it,especially Gackt reflects his characters emotions and changes pretty well,I like many of his scenes both dramatic and humorous ones,as for HYDE part,his acting is good but he deliberately staying in background as an actor,respectively as his character do,throughout the movie.I didn't like some cinematography especially lighting and some colors but due to small budget,it still has brilliant moments,but the real jewel of the film is story.It has some cheesy moments but it's OK for me,and the friendship theme of the movie is really well developed and touching at sometimes,on the other hand story points out a cruel world which no ones life guaranteed and with some memorable death scenes it reflects this theme to the visuals.An interesting note aside,this movie has some similarities with excellent vampire movie Interwiew with the Vampire which is also played by the most beautiful(not handsome,beautiful)actors of American cinema,actually Moon Child is somehow can be seen as brother with Interwiew,yet original on it's own.Only problem that MoonChild is it's a bit slow sometimes,I'm a Japanese movie fan and I used to that but it's not change MoonChild has some useless scenes or characters.But all in all;this movie is really good and very emotional sometimes,as for actors/singers duo I hope to see their other movies in future,and I recommend this to everyone who likes vampire-action-sci-fiction and romance films 8/10.
Instead I found myself intrigued by the good development of the characters, and the way that Sho (Gackt) develops through the movie as a person.
That Hyde's character is a vampire is almost a background fact with what's really going on in the foreground, and you guys will love the last scene.
Maybe that's a little because I'm a very big fan of Hyde, but - it was this movie who made me discover him.Well, Gackt (playing the main character - the orphan Sho) was a part of the group who wrote the script, and it was he who insisted that Hyde should play Sho's friend, the vampire Kei. At that time they didn't know each other, at least not like friends.
Moon Child, starring Japanese rockers Hyde and Gackt, was a better movie then I expected.
It is a truly touching movie that is sad yet beautiful at the same time.As for the acting, I think Gackt did a magnificent job.
The movie was surprisingly watchable, even if the filming and music did make it feel like someone was going to bust out a pair of nun-chucks every two scenes, and the acting on Gackt's part was quite good.
In a futuristic timeline, the story followed the lives of the two main characters, Kei (HYDE) and Sho (Gackt) and their friends growing up together.Despite some actions might be overly done or perhaps humorous, I strongly believed that this is a movie about friendship.
The plot was just...wow.I was very surprised by Gackt's and Hyde's performance, after growing up in the American world of the actors who can't sing and singers who can't act.In this movie, a young Sho (Gackt) comes across a vampire, Kei (Hyde).
Many people judge it as a fan service film because a lot of super star starring in this movie (Gackt, Hyde, and Wang Lee Hom is very famous singer in Japan).
But, it's comprehensibility because this is their first time to act in the movie.I think Gackt trying to show us about how someone can be so weak when they lose the most important person in their life.
Sho (Gackt) is saved by Kei(Hyde), a vampire who takes on the role of older brother/father as he brings up the orphan.