If you’ve never heard of X Japan and are prone to musical FOMO, fret not — “We Are X” is here to tell you why yet another band you’re unfamiliar with is actually of the utmost importance.
Stephen Kijak’s film follows in the tradition of other recent documentaries about heretofore unsung artists — think “20 Feet from Stardom” and “Searching for Sugar Man” — albeit with a minor twist: X Japan is actually massively popular in its home country and could be on the verge of spreading its fame to this side of the Pacific.
With more than 30 million records sold since forming in 1982, and a fiercely loyal fanbase, the quintet prepares for a long-awaited Madison Square Garden concert throughout the movie.
X Japan plays a kind of arena rock-inflected metal, mixing the progressive leanings of Queensrÿche with the theatricality of KISS.
(Not coincidentally, Gene Simmons is among the celebrity testimonials here; ditto Marilyn Manson and Stan Lee.) “We Are X” at first seems a cut-rate music doc, with all the concert footage and archival photos fans demand of the genre, but then more and more attention is granted to Yoshiki, the band’s frontman.
Almost always wearing sunglasses, the multi-instrumentalist is the kind of artist who retreats into his art and seems lost once the concert ends and it’s time to re-enter the real world.
Yoshiki strikes a Michael Jackson-esque figure, with a similar mix of family issues, physical frailty and immense talent informing both his on- and offstage personae.
Here he once again zeroes in on the fine line between passion and obsession, whether among X Japan’s members or their fans; when their former guitarist committed suicide after the band first broke up in 1997, for instance, at least one devotee is said to have followed suit.
