Wildly popular in Japan, Mariko’s breakthrough feature tells the story of a young man drawn mysteriously into a spiral of unrelenting violence, fearlessly engaging in an unceasing series of fights and brawls with anyone who stands, or even hesitates, in his way. Set principally in the remote port city of Matsuyama, Destruction Babies traces the enigmatic fighter and his concerned brother through a strangely errant and brutal path within a back alley Japan rarely seen on screen, pushing its way forcibly through the gangster underworld and the frayed community of disaffected youth who loiter in the street markets, posturing as adults until they are challenged to take a stand. A purposefully problematic film, Destruction Babies seems at one level to embrace the unreal ultra-violence of manga, video games and commercial cinema while also bending it into a kind of parodic self-criticism.