MAD TIGER is a feature length documentary that follows the relationship of two Japanese men, Yellow and Red, who have been best friends, band mates, and business partners touring the United States in a performance-art punk band called Peelander-Z for the last fifteen years. When Red decides to quit, their relationship is tested by life beyond the band.

“A wild, wacky and touching story.” – Rolling Stone
“A thorny tale of midlife male friendship.” – The New York Times
“A Top Ten Documentary To Watch. Much crazier than your average documentary.” – Indiewire
“An evocative portrait of strained friendships and creative turmoil.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“The opportunity to meet Peelander-Z has finally arrived” – The Village Voice
“Transcends the limits of the rockumentary genre.” – FilmDoo
“Mad Tiger achieves a tricky balance: It captures how Peelander-Z can generate authentic fun at their shows while suffering turmoil from the personalities within.” – The Herald
“It’s hard to imagine a film about Peelander-Z better than Mad Tiger. It takes the band on its own terms, with just the right amounts of enthusiasm and curiosity. It captures the drama, the personalities and the colorful chaos of the whole endeavor. Like the band itself, it’s the work of mad genius.” – The Iris
“Channeling universal stories of friendship, this film builds to an unexpectedly moving crescendo.” – OC Weekly
“Yellow and Red don’t hesitate to show that there’s real pain behind their personas.” – L.A. Weekly
“Marvelous. A must-see documentary for a lover of rock ‘n’ roll. An intoxicating mixture of audacious rock, humor, and tragedy.” – Fanboy Nation
“Filmmakers Jonathan Yi and Michael Haertlein have done something truly special; in examining a one of a kind band, they have told a story that is universal.” – Asbury Park Press
“A super film that comes fully loaded with energy, attitude, and lunacy.” – JBSpins
“Fantastic portrait of a band and its leader that works on so many different levels. It’s amazing. It’s so good I can’t wait to see it again.” – Unseen Film.
“From beginning to end, “Mad Tiger” warms your heart and it never exploits the band’s emotions or wackiness. Great documentaries can exude empathy, instead of merely recording spectacle, and “Mad Tiger” is a perfect example of the medium.” – Everyone Question
“Combining rowdy concert footage and revealing offstage interactions of the band members, “Mad Tiger” is a well-executed portrait of a band coming apart at the seams.” – The Seattle Times
“A universal story about friendship and loyalty.” – Inverse
“Mad Tiger is a lot of things – it’s touching, it’s sad, it’s inspiring, it’s hilarious. What it’s not is boring.” – Rock! Shock! Pop!
“I loved this film. It’s funny, it’s smart and it really pulls on the heartstrings. It will really make you think about yourself, your decisions, and your friends.” – Royal Flush Magazine
“As with many fine works of art, these filmmakers might have stumbled on some universal themes that they hadn’t thought of at the outset.” – Yuma Sun
“For a movie about a crazy band, the film’s real focus is on life, dreams, hopes and maturity, as you watch this cult favorite music group face down the barrel of reality. As such, it doesn’t much matter if you like their songs (some of which are ridiculously catchy), because their journey is so universal. It takes an artist’s eye to make this story look as good as it does in Mad Tiger. It’s so good, you’d be forgiven if you thought it was a mockumentary; the unfortunate side-effect of a documentary era that blurs the line between fact and fiction.” – DVDtalk.com
“It’s a sobering look at the pressures of being in a band that performs with such balls-out intensity when you’re hitting your 40s and don’t have anything else to fall back on. It will give you a deeper appreciation for the kind of sacrifices people make to give their all to their art.” – Phoenix New Times

DIRECTED by Jonathan Yi and Michael Haertlein
PRODUCED by Josh Koury
EDITED by Hisayo Kushida

contact: info@jonathanyi.com