Results tagged “Takashi Miike” from SaruDama

MPD: Psycho 3
[Multiple Personality Detective 3]

Genre: Psychotic Thriller

review in one breath

These are the final two episodes of director Miike Takashi's truly bizarre and engaging psychotic thriller. Here the mind-bending nature of the detective Amamiya's schizophrenia and its relation to the Lucy Monostone Seven is finally divulged. This is a satisfying and eery finale to the very unique MPD Psycho series.

MPD: Psycho 2
[Multiple Personality Detective 2]

Genre: Psychotic Thriller

review in one breath

The mind-boggling bizarre murders continue as Amamiya Kazuhiko inches closer toward the psychically elusive masochist Nishizono Shinji. In this second of three installments of director Miike Takashi's visually hypnotic sci-fi crime thriller, we gain further insight into the past of Amamiya and his early relationship with his now nemesis Nishizono. The pace, visuals and pure intrigue of this series remains as high as ever, as does its completely baffling storyline.

MPD: Psycho 1
[Multiple Personality Detective 1]

Genre: Psychotic Thriller

review in one breath

Truly STRANGE goings-on permeate Tokyo in this eerily beautiful yet mind-numbingly mysterious psychotic thriller. By the deservedly notorious director Miike Takashi, this tale will undoubtedly capture both your intellect and imagination from the very start.

Three... Extremes: Box

Genre: Surreal Nightmare

review in one breath

Three... Extremes is a trilogy of relatively short films each by a different asian director. Box, the 40 minute film under review here is directed by Japanese director Miike Takashi. Dumpling is a 37 minute film by Hong Kong director Fruit Chan. And Cut is a 48 minute film by Korean director Park Chan-wook. (PS: Although all three of these very cool films are contained in the single DVD I hold in my nimble fingers, I will only review Miike's film since (a) this is a Japanese movie review site, and (b) my utter lack of experience with Hong Kong or Korean films will undoubtedly result in my review simply saying these films are "very cool".)

Shinjuku Triad Society
[Shinjuku Kuro Shakai: China Mafia Sensou]

Genre: Extreme Cop Versus Crime Syndicate

review in one breath

"I know a love story that's both sweet and sickening.
That's the way love really is."

These are the opening lines to Shinjuku Triad Society and this is precisely what this film delivers in eye-popping manner; a complex, disturbing, yet absolutely gratifying story of violent sacrifice for the sake of one's parents and sibling.

Sabu

Genre: Loyalty Drama [Edo Era: 1603-1867 AD]

review in one breath

Sabu is directed by Miike Takashi and is based on the classic novel by Yamamoto Shugoro. It provides an impressive exploration of the depths and complexities of friendship and loyalty between two childhood friends who mature into harsher realities. Director Miike Takashi is undoubtedly notorious for a certain genre of film, but his direction of the much more traditional Sabu is flawless. The film was intended as a commemorative broadcast for the 40th anniversary of Nagoya Television. The project pulled in significant talent for both the production and cast, and the final result is nothing short of a compelling film which in no way resembles a made-for-television production.

Rainy Dog
[Gokudo Kuro Shakai]

Genre: Yakuza Existentialism

review in one breath

"I heard a story once of a prisoner who was alone in his cell so long that he started to care for a fly. Then one day, he found that the fly had disappeared. From that day, he began to lose his mind."

Rainy Dog is the second film in director Miike Takashi's Black Society Trilogy. Each of the three tales in this trilogy is an independent story involving different characters and storylines. The commonality among the three (besides their all being yakuza stories) is that each of the main characters is of mixed Taiwanese/Japanese blood and is thoroughly bi-lingual and bi-cultural. By choosing such an mixed ethnicity for his protagonist, Miike immediately taps into an inevitable atmosphere of social isolation and ostracism. Miike's characters thus not only find themselves outside the mainstream of normal society (due to their criminal behavior) but also outside the mainstream of both cultures. Rainy Dog, as will the other films of the Black Society Trilogy, leads audiences, perhaps as never before, through the violence, desperation, and social isolation within this ethnically marginalized criminal group.

Ley Lines
[Nihon Kuro Shakai]

Genre: Youth Yakuza Action

review in one breath

Ley Lines (Nihon Kuro Shakai) is the third and final film of director Miike Takashi's "Black Society Trilogy". Each of these films is an independent story and contains no overlap in location or characters. The commonality of these films lies in their exploration of an underground and ostracized world of crime populated by characters of mixed Japanese-Chinese ethnicity. The first of the trilogy, Shinjuku Triad Society (Shinjuku Kuro Shakai: China Mafia Sensou), has a storyline which leads audiences from Tokyo to Taipei, Taiwan and back, while the second, Rainy Dog (Gokudo Kuro Shakai) takes place solely within Taiwan. This third film, Ley Lines follows the violent adventure of three Japanese-Chinese youth as they attempt to find passage off the Japanese Islands in the search of new beginnings.

Full Metal Yakuza
[Full Metal Gokudo]

Genre: Extreme Sci-Fi Yakuza Action

review in one breath

Full Metal Yakuza is a very effective blend of yakuza tale, science fiction and real comedy. The main character is Hagane Kensuke (played by former "Kodomo Band" rock star Ujiki Tsuyoshi), a young yakuza initiate whose good-natured, over-sensitive demeanor make him perhaps the most inept yakuza to hit the streets of Japan. When Hagane's child-like admiration for a yakuza strong man places him smack in the middle of a yakuza power struggle and betrayal, he is literally shot into pieces and considered dead. But Hagane is put back together and revived by a quirky, yet well hung mad scientist. When Hagane awakes, he realizes that he is now an assemblage of human and robotic parts with a variety of powers and strengths well beyond those of normal humans. As a Full Metal Yakuza Hagane can find solace in only one thing, seeking vengeance on those who had betrayed him.

One Missed Call
[Chakushin Ari]

Genre: Supernatural Ghost Story

review in one breath

Director Miike Takashi, best known undoubtedly for his extreme yakuza films, has recently tried his hand at horror. Within a year's time he has produced both an outlandish (and characteristicly bizzarro) yakuza horror Gozu: Gokudo kyofu dai-gekijo (2003.07.12) followed by a much more mainstream horror flick which we are here reviewing entitled Chakushin Ari (2004.01.17). According to the dates on JMDB, the production of Gozu precedes that of Chakushin Ari by 6 months. Thus it is not unimagineable that Miike, after exploring his own mixture of over-the-top yakuza and horror genres, felt compelled to try his hand at a more classicly styled horror film aimed at a potentially much larger (national and international) audience awaiting the next best j-horror. Certainly "lesser" directors have scored big time in this mainstream horror endeavour, as evidenced by the debut this week of the multi-million dollar US remake of Shimizu Takashi's Juon.

Bird People in China
[Chugoku no chojin]

Genre: Contemporary Fairy-Tale

review in one breath

Bird People in China is truly one of Miike's best films. Director Miike Takashi has always been a master of exaggeration and most notoriously so in the areas of extreme violence and sexuality. Here, however, he utilizes exaggeration in an utterly unique manner and leads audiences to an intersection of gritty realism and dream-like mythology. Though Bird People in China starts in rather familiar territory for Miike fans, with violent Yakuza lurking in the shadows, it soon departs from his characteristic formula and travels instead to the idyllic mountainous landscapes of remote China. There, far removed from the bustle of the city, Miike not only allows his characters to be completely transformed amid nature's grandeur and the smiles of gentle villagers, but also wraps the entire narrative within an ancient, inspiring mythology.

The Great Yokai War
[Youkai Dai Sensou]

Genre: Traditional Monster Explosion

review in one breath

After being singled out at a local Shinto festival, Young Tadashi finds himself in the middle of an epic battle between traditional youkai and the forces of Evil. This is a rather amazing tale utilizing nearly every traditional youkai known. Directed by Miike Takashi and tapping Mizuki Shigeru for creative design, this is a veritable smorgasbord of fun and nostalgia.