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Ichi the Killer (Unrated Edition) Director: Takashi Miike Number of Items: 1 Format: Color Audience Rating: Unrated Running Time: 129 minutes Studio: Media Blasters, Inc Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-11-18 Buy from Amazon |
"Explanation (hopefully)" Masochist: "Beat me!" Sadist: "No!" This is for those that think the violence is pointless or that the movie has no plot. If you haven't seen the movie you might not want to read this. Jiji (the old man) is after Kakihara, why I have no idea. He wants to inflict as much pain as possible on Kakihara and his gang, which is difficult seeing how Kakihara is a masochist. Jiji is actually Ichi's old karate instructor (the muscular dude is the real Jiji the old man is his disguise). He knew Ichi when he killed his parents and used that to brainwash him. What he didn't know is that Ichi is a monster sadist who doesn't fully realize it. Jiji can't just go after Kakihara for no reason so he fixes it where he gets hired to do it, which is why he sets up Suzuki. The violence in the movie comes in two forms, the comic book stylized violence which is almost comical and the ultra -realistic stuff, usually perpetrated against a female. The movie is not misogynistic, women are used because they are seen as being delicate and therefore the violence resonates more than it does violence against men. By contrasting these two kinds of violence Miike allows the viewer to set their own limitations for their consumption of violence; in fact, the whole sadism masochism thing could be seen as a reflection of this. (Miike could be saying that the person that perpetrates violence, the sadist (filmmaker), is no better or worse than the person who enjoys receiving it, the masochist, or viewer. (Miike makes the viewer identify with Kakihara by tricking us at the beginning.) The way in which Jiji (and Miike) get their revenge is through dissapointment. Instead of a huge violent showdown, ala DoA, we get a bawling Ichi laying on the ground a wreck. The part when Ichi kills the kid and goes after Kakihara is Kakihara's fantasy. Because no one inflicts pain on him he has to do it himself, just like when he cut out his tongue. This dissapointment is reinforced by flashing to him in his dungeon after Karen dissapointed him. And because the viewer was sitting their in anticipation of a big ol' violent confrontation we are revealed as sado-masochists ourselves. A few cool things about this movie: Miike spent two extra months on the CG (and extra money) on the part where Ichi splits the pimp in half. He could have made it more realistic looking in less time and for less money. The customer in the hostess bar with Karen at the beginning was in Kill Bill. So were the guys that played Funaki and Takayama. The guy that played Jiji is Shinya Tsukamoto the director of Tetsuo. The guy that played Kaneko is director Sabu. At the beginning when they are in the hostess bar when Kakihara looks at Jiji's group if you look at him closely he looks exactly like Ichi. (Or is it just me?) Well, those are just a few thoughts on this work of genius, I could probably go on all day. And if you can pick up Tom Mes's book "Agitator" about Takashi Miike. ""Life without pain has no meaning..." Gentlemen, I intend to give your lives meaning..." I'm not sure if I feel worse that I saw "Ichi the Killer" or that I actually enjoyed it! Probably neither actually. I saw "Suicide circle" a week before, and I feel I may have been somewhat hasty when I said in my review it was the weirdest movie I've ever seen - I think that "Ichi" might just have it beat... "Go see Ichi ASAP" This movie blows anything America has made in years right out the door. I thought this movie was going to be gory and sick by the trailer. I was wrong. This movie was a visual and mental rollercoaster. I hated the Matrix and its pathetic acting and "intellectual" story. I hate Tom Hanks and his sappy, overdramatic performances getting called "great". This is a movie where you actually care about the crazy characters because of amazingly believable acting and dialog. This is a movie where watching it without subtitles is still amazing because of the best combination of music and camera work since Taxi Driver. This is a movie every American film maker should be forced to watch in hopes that they see how ALL elements of a movie should be finely crafted, even if that movie is a CG gorefest. This is a lesson to Hollywood: crazy, visually explosive movies can be made well and have great acting and direction. Another reason to watch this movie is because Tadanobu Asano's Kakihara(pictured on the cover) is one of the best performances I can remember. Miike isn't Akira Kurosawa, but after seeing Spielberg and Scorsese self-destroy their own careers(AI, Minority Report, Gangs of New York) I would say that Takashi Miike my favorite modern director. Ichi the Killer is a must for film fans. "Typical Yakuza Film" Honestly, the movie doesn't live up to the hype you might hear of it. If you're a fan of Yakuza films, you'll like it because of its style, but if you're not than you'll probably just have an upset stomach. The violence in the movie is nothing unique or special. If you're considering this movie because you think it's violent, then understand that it is essentially an attempt at being pyschologically disconcerting more so than graphic. The point of the plot is to psychologically jar you with the ideology of sado-masochism more so than the conventional exploration of Yakuza myth and lore. Except the plot is so thin and contrived that it'll bore psych-fans. Much of the story-line is based off of your typical Yakuza film structure. There are the undistiguishable men who are to remain unremembered as simply backdrop supporting the story, only paying attention to a few characters seriously. Of course there is the comparison to childhood events that validate the actions of the characters. There's the blurred line between antagonist and protagonist. All violence in the movie is treated equally with the visible reaction of non-violent characters. If you liked Kill-Bill, and haven't seen anything else of this genre, you'll like this film. If you're a veteran Yakuza film fan, you'll want it for your collection but will probably see 3 or 4 times again. If you're not into any of that, you'll be bored. P.S. - One of the more interesting notes about this movie is that the main character, Kekehara, is played by a J-Pop star. "Another Hit from Miike" WARNING VIEWER: ANY PERSONS OFFENDED BY EXCESSIVE AND GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE LEAVE NOW!! ichi has to be one the most if not one of the most excessively violent movies ive ever seen and ive seen quite a few violent movies. i think thats one of the things that attracts me to this movie, its lack of censorship at the fact that it refuses to hold back or cut away from the violence and how over-the-top the violence really is. another thing that i like about this movie was the characters and just how utterly INSANE these guys act and look. this movie was based on a manga of the same name, and the characters look like they are especially kakihara, the main character. i recommend this movie to anyone who doesn't have a weak stomach and likes highly stylized movies. |