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We Are X

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United Kingdom, United States · 2016
Rated R · 1h 32m
Director Stephen Kijak
Starring YOSHIKI, Toshi, PATA, Sugizo
Genre Documentary, Music

As glam rock's most flamboyant survivors, X Japan ignited a musical revolution in Japan during the late '80s with their melodic metal. Twenty years after their tragic dissolution, X Japan’s leader, Yoshiki, battles with physical and spiritual demons alongside prejudices of the West to bring their music to the world.

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What are people saying?

What are critics saying?

70

Los Angeles Times by Kimber Myers

Director Kijak deserves credit for constructing an engaging narrative that will have the uninitiated crossing their arms in an X in solidarity by the end.

78

Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov

I was unfamiliar with X Japan (as they’re known outside of their home country) but after watching this thrilling documentary I’m a rock solid fan, scouring eBay for old concert T-shirts. As Gene Simmons notes, “If X had been born in America, they might have been the biggest band in the world.”

40

CineVue by Matthew Anderson

A documentary that poses more questions that it answers can intrigue and beguile but there are vast areas in We Are X left crying out for further exploration.

60

TheWrap by Michael Nordine

We Are X is nothing you haven’t seen before as a music documentary, but it succeeds as an examination of why we turn to escapist art, and what we do when it’s no longer there.

63

Washington Post by Pat Padua

You don’t have to understand the lyrics — or even like the music — to find We Are X entertaining, even, at times, moving.

50

Village Voice by Simon Abrams

Die-hard X Japan fans may enjoy seeing Yoshiki talk about his past, but everyone else will leave We Are X wondering who X Japan is.

60

Time Out London by Tom Huddleston

The absolute seriousness with which the band regard themselves – particularly drummer-songwriter Yoshiki, who’s so famous that Stan Lee turned him into a superhero – is never questioned by Kijak, resulting in a fitfully enjoyable but rather pompous fan film.

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