Japanuary: Ichi The Killer (2001)

A film title that appears from a pool of ejaculate. Geysers of blood erupting from a variety of major wounds. An enemy who has great admiration, and almost envy, for the individual that may cause his downfall. Psychosexual madness. Special effects that vary from the sublime to the ridiculous. Yes, it's another Takashi Miike movie, and another one from what could be considered his peak period (which, for me, runs from abut 1998 to 2003, when his prolific output was matched by his inventiveness, and his reputation grew exponentially as film fans around the world discovered his filmography).

Nao Ohmori plays the titular character, a skilled and deadly assassin who has a tendency to get aroused when witnessing certain acts of violence. He is a deadly weapon, primed and pointed in specific directions by his "handler", Jijii (Shin'ya Tsukamoto). After killing a major crime boss, Ichi finds his fate intertwining with that of a sadomasochistic psychopath named Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano). Kakihara responds to the skill and viciousness of Ichi's actions, and seems to look forward to the day they will inevitably face off against one another. There's a lot more going on here, most of it to do with how Ichi is manipulated, and the consequences of that, but this basic summary covers what you need to know.

Despite the wild and over the top nature of the central characters, Ichi The Killer actually holds up as a surprisingly straightforward film from Miike, especially considering what else he was churning out during this period. The violence is extreme, and as fittingly sadistic as the main characters want to make it, and the central characters may be as ridiculous as they are murderous, but there are no sudden lurches into the completely supernatural or inexplicable.

The script by Sakichi Sato, based on the manga by Hideo Yamamoto, is dense and practically overflowing with memorable character moments. It may take a little while to get on board with what's going on, due to the way one scene is shown out of context just to start the film off, making very little sense until you get back to it again later, but that ends up being a good way to ensure that everyone knows exactly what ride they're on before it starts hurtling along the track at breakneck speed.

Although Ohmori is very good as Ichi, the film actually spends more time with Asano's character, which isn't a problem when he's delivering what I would say is one of the best performances in any Miike film. Strong words indeed, I know, but the mix of excess and restraint is perfect, and certainly a world away from many other performances that Miike has elicited from his stars (not that those performances are necessarily less enjoyable, or even less fitting, but he certainly used to prefer emotional extremes). Tsukamoto does well with his strong supporting role, acting innocent and deferential enough to people while ensuring his scheming continues to be successful, and there are also decent moments for Paulyn Sun, Susumu Terajima, Shun Sugata, and others.

But, aside from anything else, the main thing making this such a memorable viewing experience is Miike being wonderfully and unrelentingly Miike. He doesn't care if you're turned off by what he's about to show you, he's going to show it anyway, and not think twice about it. That's his strength, and sometimes his weakness, and it's what makes him the best choice for this material. He's an inconsistent, but brilliant, director. Ichi The Killer is up there with his very best work.

9/10

I will link to this set again. But feel free to click on the link and look for an uncut version.

Ichi: The Killer AKA Ichi The Killer: Episode Zero (2002)

An animated prequel to the 2001 Takashi Miike movie, this origin story is a strange little tale that may please fans of the live-action film, and fans of the manga ("a Japanese onscreen creation developed from a manga? That hardly ever happens," he said, sarcastically).

What you get here is a look at the childhood years of Ichi, AKA Hajime. Despite his seeming vulnerability, he doesn't like confrontation and would quickly burst into tears when overcome with emotion, he trains in martial arts and is primed to become the sadistic killer we would know (and love) in his adult incarnation. He also starts to explore his tendencies for sadism with a young girl who shares his particular kinks.

Once again based on the material by Hideo Yamamoto, the script for this is written by Sakichi Sato (who also wrote the live-action movies, the celebrated Miike movie and the less-celebrated 2003 prequel, which may or may not cover the same territory as this) and is at least as twisted and crass as anything else created to showcase the main character. Ichi has confusing psychosexual thoughts placed in his mind as he discovers how his parents seem to enjoy some S & M play in their sex life, he is encouraged to explore some sex and violence with Midori, and it soon becomes commonplace for Ichi to struggle to contain physical displays of his horniness whenever things are getting violent.

Director Shinji Ishihira does pretty well, making his directorial debut. Unusually for someone directing an animated film, even a short, it doesn't look as if Ishihira made his way up from other art departments to the big seat. That's not to say that he wasn't working his way up for some time before this, but I couldn't find any previous main credits for him online (although that's no guarantee when checking over the career of those who have worked in various animation roles).

The voice cast do what is required of them, with Chihiro Suzuki perfectly fine in the lead role and Sayaka Ôhara having some twisted fun in the role of Midori. Takashi Miike even lends a few grunts and noises in a tiny cameo, as Kakihara, the principal antagonist from the 2001 movie.

Despite my positive review of this, however, there's no denying that it's completely unnecessary and superfluous to requirements for those who know the world of the main character. The fact that it doesn't completely mess it up is a bonus, but not quite enough to outweigh the fact that it's nothing more than a light distraction, best viewed as a side-plate to the main dish, rather than a complete meal. I wouldn't advise anyone to rush out and watch this. I'd simply say that it's easy enough to give just under an hour of your time to if you have access to it one day, and if you enjoyed the Miike film.

5/10

It's a shame that this has the cut version of the live-action movie, but I still like the set.

Japanuary: Visitor Q (2001)

We've seen this kind of thing before. The stranger who comes into the lives of various family members, shakes things up, and helps them to embrace the things that will make them happy. Of course, as this is a Takashi Miike movie, things are a bit different here.

Kazushi Watanabe is the titular visitor, who comes smashing into the life of Ken'ichi Endô (literally, by way of a rock to the head). Endô is Kiyoshi Yamakazi, a TV reporter who is having a bit of a crisis after being bullied and abused in an incident that was also recorded. He also pays to have sex with a prostitute who is also his daughter. Yeah, it's that bad. And things get worse from there. His wife, Keiko Yamakazi (played by Shungiku Uchida), spends her time miserable, being beaten by their son (Takuya, played by Jun Mutô) and turning to heroin for some solace. The visitor is going to help them all love life a little bit more, freeing them further from inhibitions in a way that will bring the maladjusted individuals together into one maladjusted unit.

Written by Itaru Era, Visitor Q was one of a number of movies from different directors planned to specifically take advantage of new digital cameras, and the freedoms they allow. As you might expect, Miike used this exercise less as a way to push the technology, but more to push right up to the barriers of standard taste, and then go that one step further. Less a movie experience and more of an assortment of grotesque, and blackly comedic, acts, Visitor Q is one of those movies you can only ever recommend to someone if you know that they have previously been a bit daring while exploring the many dark recesses of cinema.

I used to love this film. Well, using the word in a loose sense. The content makes it hard, but not impossible, to love. Catching up with it again recently, after a gap of over a decade, I realised that it has two major flaws. The first big flaw is the whole look of the thing. I know that it's in line with the content, and I know that digital cameras were new at the time (and not half as good as they are nowadays), but this is a film that is ugly from start to finish, often in a way that just feels like laziness. Shot composition, the image quality, nudity being pixellated rather than characters being positioned differently, it all adds up to a bit of an eyesore. The second big flaw is the fact that it all feels rather pointless. There's no big statement being made here, no conclusion that makes all of the shocks and depravity worth your time. Well, okay, maybe it's not exactly pointless, but the point is buried so far under all of the nastiness that it's a hard one to give due consideration once the film has finished.

Despite those flaws, I still cannot help but admire and appreciate Visitor Q as a statement of intent from Miike, coming along just a couple of years after the likes of Dead Or Alive and Audition had made him a name familiar to cinema fans, and being followed up by the likes of Ichi The Killer and The Happiness Of The Katakuris. No matter where you stand on his films, and his prolific work ethic guarantees that some are a lot better than others, Miike has left us one hell of a cinematic legacy, and there's no denying that Visitor Q is up there with some of his most memorable outings.

8/10

You can get the DVD here.
And there seems to be a much more expensive disc option here.

Dead Or Alive: Final (2002)

Although Dead Or Alive: Final isn't a terrible movie, it's a disappointing end to what could have been a wonderful trilogy from Takashi Miike. Having said that, it at least feels like it belongs here. As flawed as it is, it's almost an inevitable destination for such a strange journey.

Riki Takeuchi and Sho Aikawa return, this time playing a cop and a wandering android, respectively. The setting is a post-apocalyptic future, the two main characters find themselves struggling with their very natures and roles (Takeuchi's cop is working on the orders of someone who may not be all he seems), and that's really all there is to it.

Seriously, that's about it. You get a few fight scenes, there's one twist that doesn't feel that impressive, and none of the characters make much of an impression. Notice that I didn't specify the supporting characters. I mean NONE of the characters. Takeuchi and Aikawa are completely wasted here, only able to shine through in a limited selection of moments in which the material doesn't keep them suffocated.

I didn't even mention the writers in my reviews of the previous Dead Or Alive instalments because, despite the occasional strength of the scripts (particularly in the second film), each film felt very much like a Miike film. This doesn't, which means fewer enjoyable elements to distract from the rather weak script.

Perhaps he was just desperate to finish the trilogy, perhaps he really thought there was a good story hidden away at the centre of this thing, or perhaps he created something that just didn't manage to appeal to my sensibilities in the way that the other films did. Whatever his reasons, Miike takes the potential playground of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film and continues to keep the focus on the relationship between the two leads. In some ways, it's a typically impressive and bravura Miike move, but in other ways it leaves this film feeling like an inferior rehash of themes and ideas explored in the preceding instalments.

6/10

Buy the trilogy here.

Dead Or Alive 2: Birds (2000)

I've probably mentioned this before, many times, but my introduction to Takashi Miike came in a bit of a triple punch to the gut. I can't remember the exact order, even if I have previously named a title as my definitive first ever Miike, but it was a dizzying mix of the horror of Audition, the insane nastiness of Ichi The Killer (as butchered by the BBFC as it was/is), and the blistering opening salvo of Dead Or Alive. I then followed that up with the likes of Visitor Q, The Happiness Of The Katakuris, and managed to see clips of Gozu.

Those are all representative of Miike movies at the turn of the 21st century, but only in the way they show his wild and varied approach to subject matters. What they don't really show is the heart and maturity that can be seen in a film like this one, the second of the very loose trilogy (basically only connected by the titles and leads), and how he can do a hell of a lot with fairly limited resources.

The plot of Dead Or Alive 2: Birds is quite simple, really. Two hitmen (played by Riki Takeuchi and Sho Aikawa) cross paths, realise that they were friends as children, and head back to visit the orphanage on an island community that helped to raise them. They then decide to use their deadly skills to help get money for the orphanage, a decision that doesn't sit too well with the gangsters who had previously been profiting from the specified kills.

Although there are still little fantastical flourishes here and there, this is a much more grounded film than the hyper-stylized Dead Or Alive. The first film was about morality, shaded and complex as it can be. It was about good versus evil, taken to an enjoyably ridiculous conclusion, but it also spent a lot of time wallowing in the criminal underworld. It made viewers feel unpleasant, in need of a shower. This film, while it certainly looks at good versus evil, explores the grey middle ground even further. Bad deeds can be done for many reasons, but are they still essentially bad deeds if the outcome ends up being so good? Is redemption available to those who can't fully change their nature? Can reconnecting to your more innocent youth reconnect you to your more innocent soul? All, or none, of these things might go through your head while watching this surprisingly emotional look at two jaded men potentially saved by the memories of when they were just two young boys.

The performances from all involved are very good, with Takeuchi and Aikawa giving their best turns in the trilogy. But, even more so than the lead performances, the overall atmosphere of this film is something to be displayed as exhibit A when anyone tries to dismiss Miike as nothing more than a dealer in violence and shocks. You can almost feel the sunshine and smell the surrounding countryside during the many scenes that show the leads in their youth, remembered in that sun-hazed nostalgia that affects so many of us when we strive to remember long lost years that were wasted in playtime before we knew anything of adult responsibilities or stresses.

It still falls short of being perfect, in different ways from the first film, but this remains a beautiful and resonant work that still needs to be seen by a LOT more people.

8/10

Buy the trilogy here.

Dead Or Alive (1999)

Takashi Miike has spent the last quarter of a century making a LOT of movies. And, in between 1999 and 2002 (approximately), his profile was considerably raised in America and Europe with a selection of unforgettable, and astonishing, works. Films such as Audition (still perhaps his finest hour, for me anyway), Ichi The Killer, Visitor Q, The Happiness Of The Katakuris, and the Dead Or Alive trilogy. Miike was clearly someone worth watching, even if he often placed scenes in his movies that were tough to watch.

Dead Or Alive, at its core, is a very basic film about warring criminal factions and the cop trying to clean things up. There’s a large cast of supporting players, and a number of disturbing vignettes, but the focus ends up on a gangster named Ryuuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and the man who ends up undoing his plans (Sho Aikawa, as Detective Jojima). These two men move through a narrative that allows them to show the shading of their character before finally attempting to paint them as opposing black and white pieces in a winner-take-all endgame.

To call the opening 5+ minute opening sequence of Dead Or Alive blistering is pretty accurate. But anyone who has yet to see the film should be made aware that this is REALLY blistering. It’s an audio-visual assault on your senses, and I’m not using that phrase to be hyperbolic. You get gunfire, dancing, sodomy, drug deals, arterial spray, one hell of a long line of cocaine being snorted, a rocking track overlaying everything, and lots of noodles. The entire sequence sets up the tone of the film, although viewers will undoubtedly breathe a huge sigh of relief when Miike starts to slow things down to a more bearable pace.

Of course, the slowing down of the pace of the movie also means that the unpleasantness, when it occurs, is onscreen for longer. Whether it’s a maker of pornography trying to set up a very twisted scene for a niche market or a drugged-out woman lying around in a small pool full of . . . . . . . well, I’ll let you see for yourself. Even the hardiest of viewers may find their stomach churning on occasion.

And while you could make the valid point that so much of what unfolds here is pointlessly shocking just for the sake of it, you could also argue that Miike, and/or writer Ichiro Ryu, is deliberately railing against a cinematic tradition of cool Japanese killers. Handsome leading men who order clean, swift murders, and who act within a strict code of honour. I may be reading too much into things, and Miike has made films with his fair share of cool killers too, but it almost feels as if this movie deliberately forces viewers to look into the cesspool that violent crime can inhabit. By exaggerating things, by making moments so repugnant that you can almost smell something rotten while the film is running, Miike seems to be using the material to teach us all a lesson about glamorising a lifestyle most of us will hopefully never see outside the edges of a movie screen.

8/10

Order the trilogy here.