Today in Takashi Miike week I watched Dead or Alive: Final (2002)
Sho Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi return to finish the epic trilogy of largely unrelated movies. The pair of actors have been the one unifying factor across the Dead or Alive trilogy, two souls eternally seeking one another, sometimes friends, sometimes enemies. Across the series they both deliver standout performances in a variety of styles, in the first they portray grounded and tortured souls, in Birds they deliver comedic sentimentality at its best and here they go completely over the top.
Final is a cyberpunk action thriller and as such picks its themes from the standard affair of the genre, here it is the eternal conflict of human nature and individuality against the oppressive and inhuman systemic society we have created for ourselves. Unfortunately this film’s futuristic vision is hampered by unfortunate budgetary restrictions and its theme takes a backseat to a self aware sense of humour and attempting to sum up the series.
The attempt to tie the series together is so absurd and over the top that it is the only appropriate ending I can think of. Unfortunately it leads to this film having a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion for its own story. In fact the story has no ending, it just makes way for a climax that comes out of nowhere. For the series this is perfectly in keeping with its madcap sense of humour, but since each film has so far been a standalone satisfying experience it is somewhat disappointing that this film flounders in that respect.
Finally, this is the last Miike film of the week. As someone with a filmography of over ninety directorial credits it is impossible to truly represent Takashi Miike with only seven films so perhaps another Miike week in in order somewhere down the line. But for now I need a break from his madcap eccentricities. His films are a blast to engage with but too much will hurt your head. As for this film, while it lacks a satisfying stand alone story it is a great ending to a fantastic trilogy, it is an absurd summation of what Dead or Alive is all about, madcap humour, intense violence and two of Japan’s best actors on a collision course with destiny. 4/5
Today in Takashi Miike week I watched Visitor Q (2001)
Perhaps Miike’s most perverse and taboo breaking work, Visitor Q was conceived of for a series of low budget films designed to showcase the possibilities of the digital medium. It is the tale of a disturbingly messed up family and how they manage to heal themselves in perhaps one of the more provocative ways that has ever been accomplished.
This movie is not for the faint of heart, while it lacks the financial means to indulge in over the top gore it makes up for that with truly deranged behavior. If you can stomach the proceedings though, this film is a very rewarding farce. Of course sense of humour is relative but I at least find this movie uproarious. Visitor Q has one of the darkest senses of humour coupled with a madcap glee not unlike an old Warner Brothers cartoon.
As a showcase of the possibilities of early aughts digital film making this films is fascinating. Miike uses all sorts of techniques to showcase the utility of consumer cameras and uses what budget there is to show some damn creative mayhem. The technology adds a level of verisimilitude to the proceedings and adds credence to the idea that this is the worlds worst home movie.
This is one of Miike’s absolute best, a taboo breaking, mind bending assault on good taste and traditional family dynamics. It is a time capsule of early aughts independent film and an image of what was to come. 5/5
This avant-garde action film may be Takashi Miike’s strangest work. It concerns the soul of a dead samurai wandering the afterlife seeking vengeance on the enigmatic entities that rule the universe. This is not an entertaining movie in the conventional sense, its intention is to express and it is very expressive.
This is one of Miike’s most philosophical works, much of the dialogue is very existential in nature and the imagery is thick with symbolism. This is perhaps also his most nihilistic work as it expresses a very base frustration with existence as a whole. The more cerebral elements of this movie may strike some as pretentious but I feel like we can all empathize with this movie as a moment of frustration in an eternal struggle.
While many films have used violence to represent the human struggle against the ills of reality, this film takes that metaphor to an extreme level. This film is incredibly violent but perhaps a little too much so, allegorical action set pieces flow into one another in a seemingly nonstop barrage of human suffering and it is very tiring. This along with the film’s length make it a real slog to get through but I can see how this adds to its artistic merits, much like the main character we are being beaten down and shown the nihilistic truth, that our struggles are all in vain.
While I do not agree with the fatalistic sentiments of this film, I admire its daring and its artistry. It is a war of attrition to sit through the barrage of cruelty as it often is in reality. While not a piece of entertainment, it is well executed film-art that expresses that anger and frustration we all feel when things seem to never go our way. 4/5
Today in Takashi Miike week I watched Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)
If you watched the first installment of the Dead or Alive series you would know that that movie did not leave much room for a sequel, yet here we are. Show Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi who played the leads last time return, this time in new roles as a pair of yakuza hitmen. This is a whole new story with a whole new cast of characters, it has very little to do with the original and in many ways defies what one would expect of a sequel the that piece of mayhem.
The plot concerns two hitmen who get mixed up in a botched job, they find out that they are in fact old childhood friends while fleeing to their childhood home in rural Japan. While some of the intense violence of the first film is brought over, most of this film is a quiet contemplation of childhood and growing up. This sentimentality is coupled with a childish sense of humour, largely replacing the perverse and disturbing content of the original.
This deliberate bucking of the past film’s violent and sexual affectations is both good and bad, on the one hand it is a more accessible film and the comparison of a violent yakuza life with one of pastoral peace is at times profound. Yet on the other hand the two worlds of this film compete for screen time and while Miike can be a master at blending irreconcilable atmospheres there is a rather jarring disconnect here. Much like Gozu there is something of a pacing problem that exacerbates the clash of emotions with the film constantly struggling for a balance.
Yet all the problems with this film are tempered with some wonderful cinematography and great performances from all the cast. There is some beauty in the contrast this film displays and it can be very poetic. So all in all this film is a humerous curiosity that despite its numerous problems comes together admirably for its experimentation. 4/5
Gozu has a reputation of being one of the directors more incomprehensible and weird films. A young yakuza is ordered to kill an older member whom he looks up too but who has been acting very erratically. They take a trip out to rural Japan and things get weird.
This film is dense with a surreal atmosphere that i would compare to David Lynch, especially Twin Peaks. While much of the dialogue and many of the events are humorously farcical in nature, they are shot like a horror with a downright terrifying ambient soundtrack. there is a stressful atmosphere to this film, it is alienating and off-putting. I found myself dreading what might happen next, yet not able to articulate to myself why as the characters were not in any significant danger.
Remember when I mentioned that one of Miike’s recurring themes was the latent homo-eroticism of Japanese culture, especially organized criminal culture? Well that is perhaps the central theme of this film. While I hesitate before assigning any one meaning to this film, it seems that the underlying narrative is that of the young yakuza becoming aware of his homosexuality. Miike seems to be presenting a very bleak view of how Japanese culture deals with sexual taboo with the aforementioned stressful atmosphere and an underlying sense of paranoia.
The film does have a rather serious pacing issue though. It becomes somewhat episodic during the middle act and it begins to feel padded with weirdness. The film decompresses and once the impact of the frequently disturbing behavior begins to wane. Once the film begins to reach the third act it feels as though it is about to end, yet it pulls out a whole new chapter to the events.
Pacing aside the disturbing and bizarre imagery blends well with an understated madcap humour in Gozu. The principle cast react very amusingly to the nightmare around them and while it may seem to meander it is worth sticking with for its crowning moment of crazy at the end. 4/5
Today in Takashi Miike week I watched The Bird People in China (1998)
With the last film being very typical of Miike’s over the top yakuza bloodshed movies, this is something completely different. The Bird People in China is a very sentimental story, it concerns a hard working Japanese salaryman who is sent to a remote village in China’s Yunnan province to scout for jade. A yakuza has tagged along for the ride to make sure the company repays some shady loans.
This film has a very literary tone, suitably it is based on a novel. It is a very meditative film, mostly composed of downtime in which the principle characters and the audience take in their surroundings. The scenery here, some of the most beautiful in any film, expertly shot and explored by Miike is the perfect backdrop for the characters to ruminate on their lives and the world.
Once again we see Miike’s brilliant ability to meld moods and transition between different atmospheres. While in Dead or Alive it was morbid, puerile humour with dark social commentary and ultra violence. Here it is jaunty humour, quiet introspection and sentimental exploration. There is no inconsistency here, all these feelings have been sewn together to create a very ‘real’ patchwork of emotions and moments not unlike the films of the Italian neorealism movement.
Takashi Miike has always had an underlying humanist theme in his works, here perhaps more so than many other films. The obvious connotations of the plot are not shied away from, one of the central discussions in the movie has to do with whether or not bringing a Japanese mining operation to the village would be the right thing to do. Now thankfully the film does not become propaganda for one way of thinking or the other, instead it discusses the pro’s and con’s of both options. This is not about what is right and wrong but about how we decide what is right and wrong for us in our current situation.
There is also a strong ‘zen’ vibe here. There is an underlying current of acceptance and of contentment in this film. The beautiful mountain village gives our characters times of reflection, having separated them from their high stakes lives in the city. Renji Ishibashi who plays the yakuza gives a particularly moving performance. It is his character that undergoes the most radical change and takes the most radical actions and his emotional turmoil is portrayed in such a heartbreaking, yet ultimately inspiring way.
This film is just lovely, perhaps a little slow but this time is necessary for the audience to absorb its quiet poetry. It is a very mature and technically wonderful film that everyone should see, it has a very good message, it is beautiful both visually and emotionally and its pretty darn funny as well. 5/5
Today in Takashi Miike week I watched Dead or Alive (1999)
This movie is not based on the atrocious series of video games.
I have decided that since it has been some time since I have watched any of the films of one of my favorite directors, I will watch one of his films every day this week. Takashi Miike is one of Japan’s greatest directors, one of the most prolific, hard working and daring directors in the world let alone his country of origin. He paints with broad strokes across many canvases to the point that it is almost impossible to analyze his films individually because his trends, quirks and themes become so much more rich in meaning as he puts them under numerous frames of reference.
This movie… oh boy this movie. This movie is the tale of a Chinese/Japanese mixed race gangster and a hard boiled police officer, as their paths cross and their lives spiral into an out of control vortex of violence that consumes their partners, family and friends. Irreverent, sadistic and perverse dark humour are staples of Miike’s work in the ninties and aughts but here they are magnified and out of control. This movie is not for the feint of heart. I will give some examples because frankly you need to brace yourself for this film. if objectionable content like this turns you off, you will know where you stand (no spoilers this is from the opening). The opening scene is a number of scenes inter-cut with extreme pace, two of these scenes I will detail. First is a man gorging himself on bowl after bowl of ramen, only to be attacked, shot in the back and have the undigested ramen shoot out his stomach. The second involves two men having anal sex in a dingy bathroom, someone comes in kills the penetrator who’s blood sprays upon his partner who turns to receive it like a cum shot. Do you find that level of dark yet irreverent humour and mayhem distasteful? Then Takashi Miike is not the director for you. If that seems maniacally intriguing, then lets move on to the more serious side of this film.
Elephant in the room out of the way, the body of this film is actually quite down to earth. The criminals being mixed race gives Miike a platform for one of his many recurring themes, the plight of minorities in Japan, not a theme many Japanese directors have the balls to confront. Miike takes it head on and blatantly states at one point that Japan has a bigger problem with how it treats minorities than America. He gives a lot of depth to the plight of the criminals while also showing the problems faced by an underpaid, overworked police officer with a family to take care of. Another recurring theme on display here is the latent homo-eroticism of Japanese culture, especially organized criminal culture. Finally it seems there is some quiet meditation on the Americanization of Japan going on in the background, but I might be reading into that too much or just the nature of setting it in the (then contemporary) late nineties.
Frankly I think this film is a masterpiece; a hybrid of sleaze, thoughtful social satire, and ultra-violence that satisfies me on many levels, but it is not entirely perfect. Of course the dark and disturbing aspects of this film are pretty extreme but that is the price of admission, the main issues I have with the film are really when it just goes completely crazy. Well its not really an issue I have with it as much as a criticism I see others having with this film, it bookends a very serious and dramatic story with utter insanity, I like it as a creative decision, but its not going to be for everyone. I already detailed a small portion of the opening, but the ending is something else, if you have been intrigued this far then you must witness the ending; one of the most baffling moments in cinema history that must be seen to be believed.
Now while I try to be as objective as humanly possible with my reviews I have to admit that I don’t believe that objectivity is humanly impossible. So I feel like I should disclose some of what my thought process behind them is. I try my best to review a movie on it’s terms, in other words I try to gauge how well a movie is at being itself, how accurately does the product within resemble whats on the tin? I do this because I believe that I love all film, all genres should be cherished as unique expressions of human consciousness. So my reviews tend to skew high, every movie starts as a five star ideal and then I remove points only when the film is untrue to itself, or so I like to think I do.
Anyways what does this have to do with Dead or Alive? Well like I have Illustrated above, the film is sleazy, crass and sometimes puerile. Many people I feel would take that to mean this is a bad movie, a distasteful movie, an offensive movie and they are not wrong. But this movie has so much more too it, it has such craft and passion and it lays out right at the start what kind of movie you are in for. So to me this a perfect example of a movie being true to itself and damn the audience if that’s not what they want. 5/5
On whatever whim, I have decided that this week I will watch seven films from Takashi Miike. Miike is one of my personal favorite directors, with a huge filmography of staggering diversity, he is the perfect candidate for the first themed week here in the Cinema Temple.
Cinema Temple 