Category: extreme

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action extreme literary adaptations thriller

Battle Royale: A Tale of Caution

A grandiose orchestra plays together with a dark and soaring choral ensemble as a news helicopter arrives loudly to the scene. An overtly excited newscaster tells us of a class of 9th graders chosen for a fiercely contested game whose rules we’ve yet to learn. Taken to the scene in a military vehicle by armored soldiers and swarmed by the press, a small girl in school uniform holds on to her doll as the newscaster reports that she is the winner. Covered head-to-toes in blood, the girl slowly raises her face and eerily smiles for the cameras in a series of jump cuts and flashes. This introductory scene shockingly sets the tone of Fukasaku Kinji’s grim horror action thriller: Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru, 2000). Fifteen minutes later, we witness the first of over 40 gruesome deaths: an adult is shot through the eye, a girl is stabbed in the forehead, and a boy’s neck is made to explode by a collar triggered through radio waves. I warn you that Battle Royale is not the kind of movie you should be watching if you are weak of stomach, or if old samurai films are the most violence you can handle in a day.

It was precisely the violent nature of the storyline which drew much of the controversy surrounding the film and the large audiences that made it a hit. The movie has an R15 rating (restricted for those 15 years old and over), an apparently rarely used rating in Japan even for violent films.[1] Fukasaku who disliked the rating, attempted to have the censor board review it once more, but the film sparked controversy at the Japanese Diet who called it “crude and tasteless”, so he withdrew the request out of fear for more censorship.[2] Though I must agree with the censor board and the Japanese politicians due to the film’s graphic nature, the film did manage to be a box-office hit grossing the equivalent of $25 million USD in Japanese yen, spawning a sequel, a number of mangas, and a possible future Hollywood remake. Such a success is worthy—if not of some level of appreciation—at least of respect.

The story—which is a bit convoluted because of the enormous amount of characters—happens in an alternate dystopic Japan where unemployment, inflation, and government tyranny lead teenagers towards delinquency and rebellion. To placate the rebellious youth and instill fear, the government passes the Millennium Reform School Act forcing one randomly selected class of ninth grade students to compete in a game of death and survival against each other with real weapons on a deserted island once every year. This year’s chosen class is Class B; forty-four students each with their individual teenager insecurities and quirks.

The film maintains cohesion by focusing on two specific characters: Nanahara Shuya (Fujiwara Tatsuya) and Nakagawa Noriko (Maeda Aki); friends together with the rebellious Nobu (Kotani Yukihiro)—the previously mentioned boy whose collar explodes. Prior to the game, Nobu incites an uprising at school and stabs the school teacher Kitano (appropriately played by Kitano Takeshi) in the leg. Unbeknownst to the class the sadistic Kitano becomes the head of the Battle Royale Program and is the one who kills Nobu both out of revenge, and to make an example out of him. Once the game begins, Shuya and Noriko are morally correct characters who do not want to kill, thus they stay together out of friendship and support. However, not all their classmates think alike and soon the carnage begins. Some try to hide, some gang up to hunt the rest, and another small group attempts an elaborate plan to deactivate the collars. The storyline unfolds as Shuya and Noriko bump into the different groups of students, and how their interactions with them lead to acts of revenge, jealousy, a few times of love, and more than anything, gruesome deaths. Meanwhile, from his base of operations, the emotionless Kitano watches the game unfold every now and then informing the surviving students through speakerphones across the island of the growing number of dead.

The controversy that surrounds the story most positively comes not just from violence and gore, quite common in modern film times, but because the plot revolves around perfectly normal teenagers who go awry under extreme circumstances. Such scenes as when five of the schoolgirls kill each other after an incident with a poisoned soup intended for Shuya, highlights the kind of tonal shifts that happen all throughout the film. We pass from moments of simple schoolgirl chit-chat, where one of the girls Sugimura Hiroki is pressured to reveal her feelings for Shuya, to a moment of pure violence that a western director like Quentin Tarantino would love.

In an interview to Fukasaku, the 70 year old director commented that his film is nothing but a fable, a parable, a tale of caution meant to educate. However, we should ask who is the film attempting to educate? Fukasaku wants to emphasize a generational gap: adults vs. youth. He mentions in the interview the gap that existed between his own generation who fought the war, and the younger modern one: “since the burst of the bubble economy… adults, many of them salary men and working class people… most of them started to lose confidence in themselves. And the children who have grown up and witnessed what happened to the adults, their anxiety became heightened as well”.[3] Perhaps we should then consider that the violence in the film exemplifies an exaggeration of the horrid and awkward journey that is growing up and becoming an adult.

On the adult spectrum, the heartless Kitano becomes one of the most enigmatic and distressingly interesting characters of the film, because he illustrates the extremism and single-mindedness that often times comes with being an adult. To western audiences, the emotionless performance by Kitano Takeshi contrasts with his comedic appearances seen through reruns and dubs of the television show Takeshi’s Castle. The actor here plays the teacher Kitano completely straightforward; he is merciless, cold, calculating but at the same time dangerously unpredictable as he demonstrates at the beginning of the film when he delights himself in killing Nobu and one of the student girls. However, the teacher still serves a bizarre comedic purpose as his dialogue is ironic when he says things such as: “Sorry, it’s against the rules for me to kill isn’t it?”, or later on: “It’s tough when friends die on you, but hang in there”.  Dressed in sweatpants, Kitano spends his time doing stretching exercises and eating cookies, while outside his base the most despicable acts of murder are carried by his command. At a determined point in the movie (which I won’t reveal or it could spoil the film); Kitano reveals a gruesome painting that he has drawn. It is of the island, covered in the butchered bodies of the students and surrounding a heavenly image of Noriko. Kitano says that it represents his hope that she will be the only survivor of the game. This strange relationship between him and Noriko is showcased at several points in the film, such as when he saves her from the mischievous Mitsuko (the school temptress and femme fatale) and strangely offers Noriko an umbrella to protect her from the rain. There’s one more bizarre one in which we see them both talk and eat ice-cream by an idyllic riverside enjoying each other’s company. The scene appears slightly washed out and happens in between two shots of Noriko and Kitano sleeping separately, as if to say that perhaps the riverside scene is a dream that they are both currently sharing. Kitano’s strange behavior, obsession with Noriko and passive aggressive behavior are a few of the things in Battle Royale that make it an interesting study on the psychology of deranged individuals, but it also begs a comment on the psychology of grown people who having lived through extreme circumstances, become immune or desensitized by acts of extremity.

There is no doubt that Fukasaku’s Battle Royale has become a staple of Japanese cult cinema, because of the extreme acts of violence portrayed between teenagers. An adherence to such a taboo subject—essentially demystifying the innocence of youth—in favor of a view that portrays the journey of becoming an adult as a nightmarish path towards intolerance and indifference. If the story is a tale of caution it’s probably effective for its shock value as a form catharsis, but we should begin questioning ourselves for the reasons that a small group of devoted fans—such as I—find such horrible things, so attractive. Have we simply just not changed at all from those years when say Romans forced slaves in gladiatorial combat? Is Fukasaku’s final comment that we as a race are simply violent by nature and no amount of reasoning or morality will ever change that? I pray it isn’t so.

[1] Leong, Anthony (2001). “Battle Royale Movie Review”. Issue 33 of Asian Cult Cinima. Retrieved 2007-01-08

[2] Mes, Tom and Jasper Sharp. “Midnight Eye interview: Kinji Fukasaku.” 9 April 2001. Midnight Eye. <http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kinji_fukasaku.shtml>.

[3] Mes, Tom and Jasper Sharp. “Midnight Eye interview: Kinji Fukasaku.” 9 April 2001. Midnight Eye. <http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kinji_fukasaku.shtml>.

Categories
extreme J-horror

Cartoons and Killer Pianos: A Review of “Hausu”

Obayashi Nobuhiko’s Hausu (House, 1977) is an assault on the senses. This is a movie designed to make the viewer say “what the…” Through a twisted plot, a barrage of visual effects and bizarre music choices, Obayashi creates an unforgettable horror film with touches of dark comedy throughout. Naturally the film contains plenty of violence, gore, and some nudity.

The basic plot of the film follows six school girls (Angel, Fantasy, Sweetie, Melody, Kung Fu, and Mac) on their summer vacation trip to the countryside. They plan to stay with Angel’s aunt. When they arrive at the aunt’s house they slowly learn things aren’t quite as they seem and they are one by one eliminated by the haunted house. The plot sounds like standard fare for a horror film. However, there is nothing typical about this film.

One cannot watch the screen for more than five seconds before something strange happens. Shots are often from atypical angles, seen through mirrors, with different coloured tints applied, and/or seen through special lens. The camera rarely stays in one place. Instead it constantly cuts, sometimes to a quick a dream sequence and then right back to the action.

Obayashi is especially creative with the death scenes. Superimposed images and video effects one might find in 1980s music videos are used heavily. Often the “killer” is a piece of furniture which becomes active and violent towards the girls including one memorable scene in which a piano eats Melody. There’s plenty of blood and severed limbs but it’s often not used to scare but for dark humour – a severed head of one of the girls taunts and laughs at another girl.

The characters are all named after their most distinctive traits. For example, Kung Fu is good at fighting and Mac (short for stomach) likes to eat. These extremely one-dimensional characters poke fun at typical horror film characters and are another source of humour for the film. Perhaps the biggest source of humour is the male teacher character Togo. Togo is supposed to join the girls on their trip but gets left behind and is constantly trying to catch up. His character is introduced as the handsome, responsible adult but what the viewer sees is a silly man with goofy sideburns. His scenes are especially cartoony (a trait which could be applied to the whole movie) – he trips downstairs and bounces around, complete with cartoon sound effects.

The music throughout the film complements this cartoon feel and contrasts the violent imagery. The main theme is a catchy, happy-sounding tune, completely atypical for the horror genre. The film also features a corny-sounding vocal pop song which is also unfit for the violence on screen. The main piano theme plays an important role in the plot as it is the song that Melody plays before she is eaten by the piano. The other characters can hear her playing the tune as they walk throughout the house but once she is attacked they start to hear discordant random piano notes. When they return to the piano room, they once again hear the happy piano tune, now being played by Melody`s floating severed fingers. The main theme is also featured in a bizarre duet between the aunt and her cat which is certainly a candidate for the scene least typical of the horror genre. The sound editing, much like the video editing, is maniac and inventive. Often a character`s line will be looped several times or brought back and played over top of a later scene. The effect subverts typical narrative structures and again draws out the cartoon nature of the film.

Obayashi was ahead of his time in his heavy use of effects and cartoonish atmosphere. Similar absurd humour achieved through those means can be seen in contemporary movies such as Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004) and television such as Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007-present). It`s clear that a lot of effort was put into making this film as fun and bizarre as possible. Hausu is a restless film that simultaneously leaves viewers scared, laughing, and scratching their heads.

Categories
action drama, melodrama extreme

“Battle Royale”

Battle Royale, directed by Fukasaku Kinji and released in 2000, is a controversial film which depicts middle-school classmates being forced to brutally fight to the death, and the moral struggles that naturally arise from this twisted game. The film stars Kitano Takeshi as the cold and complex teacher overseeing his class’s battle, and Fujiwara Tatsuya as a student of the class, and the main protagonist. The violent and explicit content involving 15 year olds created much controversy around the film, and perhaps due to this it collected more attention and has now become a sort of cult-classic. If you don’t mind the amount of death and violence in the film, it actually offers something of interest for most of its viewers—whether it be discussing the nature of humans and morality, or simply enjoying the creative carnage.

The film’s events are set in a fictional, modern Japan that is mired in societal and economic failure, with a notable conflict between the adult and youth generations. The film opens with this statement: “At the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At 15% unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence and, fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act, AKA: the BR Act.” This BR(Battle Royale) Act, which forms the basis for the whole film, is an extreme law that states that at the end of every school year, one class among all of Japan’s school classes is to be randomly selected, taken to an abandoned island, given weapons, and told to kill each other. Furthermore, each of the students is fitted with a collar that explodes upon removal, and can be detonated by those overseeing the event.  The last student remaining alive wins and is allowed to return home, though, if there is no single winner after 3 days, all the collars are detonated. The film follows a class selected by the BR Act, and mainly focuses on two of the 15 year old students: Nanahara Shuya, a good-natured boy, and Nakagawa Noriko, a quiet and more reserved girl. While various other characters’ confrontations are also shown, most of the film shows these two students’ cooperative struggle to survive in a battlefield of both classroom friends and enemies.

What the film succeeds mostly in is presenting an original, thought-provoking scenario while also pleasing more casual viewers with intense action and a plot that is rather simple, though housed in the genuinely interesting idea of the BR Act. The intensity of the film is undeniable, as naturally frequent shootouts and skirmishes breakout. However, even simple dialogues between characters become life-threatening, as the students must cautiously guess their classmates’ intents while struggling to decide their own. The idea of the film, the BR Act,  beckons violence and allows for a lot of creative freedom regarding the actual events within the battle, and the content reflects this. The variety of characters and the humorous variety of weapons given makes for scenes one may never see in any other movie, such as a chubby student wielding a crossbow, torn in indecision and crying as he chases and flings deadly arrows at his colleagues. This short scene highlights the success of the film: one can enjoy contemplating the complete reversal of morals and the mental struggle as friends are forced to kill each other to survive, or one can simply enjoy the brutal, creative combat that consistently arises. The film does have a morally-sound hero that is likable, so other viewers can enjoy taking a strong focus on the plot and the protagonists’ struggles, rather than the gore, violence, and philosophical discussions in this film. In this sense, though it is perhaps too explicit for some, this is a film that offers a lot to enjoy for a wide audience.

A clear and prevalent theme of the film is morals being either embraced or forgotten, and the struggles inherent in coming to decide on one way or the other. The true nature of human beings is brought into question as we view what feels like a social experiment, where any law and authority is completely removed. It is interesting to watch what the different students come to value when faced with this game. Many value those they love, making it their mission to protect friends, or admit their feelings to their high-school crushes. Many hold onto their morals and commit suicide early on, unable to participate in such an illicit game. Some become independent killing machines, seeking revenge or pleasure, such as one girl who uses her sexual power to tempt and kill male classmates, or another student who just enjoys everything about the game. We essentially see a mini-society where power and authority is decided by who is willing to kill and who isn’t. Power is there for those who want it, and the film really seems to ask its audience if they would embrace such power, or hold onto the moral beliefs that keep much of our human society in order.

I highly recommend Battle Royale to any viewer who is not too discouraged by the amount of death and violence. The film is definitely original, and presents a scenario that one cannot help but contemplate inserting themselves into and speculating on their own actions. For many, the ingenuity of the film alone is appealing enough, but in content it succeeds in presenting intense and creative action, though often crossing the line for some. There are some scenes that do feel out of place or too contrived; this is not a perfect film. Having said that, its flaws should not hinder the overall experience too much, and the film offers enough to think about and enjoy for a wide range of audiences.

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extreme

“Ichi the Killer”

Famous for pushing censorship boundaries with overtly violent and sexual movie content, Miike Takashi continues his controversial film-making with Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya Ichi, 2001). Starring Japanese Acadamy Award Winner Asano Tadanobu (Zaitochi 1998), actor Omori Na, film director/actor Tsukamoto Shin’yao, and Miss Singapore 1994 winner and actress Pauline Suen; Ichi the Killer is a stylish yakuza film of extreme sadomasochistic content. As a publicity stunt during the premier of Ichi the Killer at the Toronto International Film Festival, vomit bags were given out to movie viewers. In saying that, I hope this establishes the gruesome nature of the film. Ichi the Killer is without doubt one of Miike Takashi’s most graphic films, and it should not be viewed by the faint of heart!

Based on anime writer Yamamoto Hideo’s manga 1 (Ichi 1993), yakuza boss Anjo is assassinated while he is forcefully enjoying a prostitute. The mastermind behind the murder is rival Jijii (played by Tsukamoto Shin’yao), who cleans up the murder scene in order to lead Anjo’s gang to believe their boss has escaped town with a prostitute and 300 million yen. Kakihara (played by Asano Tadanobu), is eager to find Anjo as he believes his boss is kidnapped. At a club, Jijii tells Kakihara and his gang a lie about a rival gang member Suzuki having taken Anjo hostage. Kakihara proceeds to hang Suzuki on his back with metal hooks, as Kakihara interrogates him. In the process, skewers are painfully used and boiled water is poured while Suzuki is on the metal hooks.
We soon find out Jijii is plotting a gang warfare between rival yakuza gangs. The secret assailant behind Jijii’s plan is an unknowingly and naïve recluse named Ichi (played by Omori Na). Ichi is brainwashed by Jijii, by confusing his sexual lust into murderous tendencies. Not only does Ichi assassinate Anjo, but Ichi kills an abusive pimp alongside a prostitute he routinely visits. Through Anjo’s prostitute girlfriend Karen (played by Pauline Suen), Kakihara finds out that Ichi is responsible for his boss’s death. Kakihara, a sadist himself, realizes that Ichi can provide the ultimate pain (thus pleasure) that he is seeking. Times are becoming difficult for Kakihara, as he is kicked out of his yakuza clan and his defecting underlings are fleeing when the majority of Kakihara’s men are killed by the Jijii controlled Ichi. This leaves a showdown between Kakihara and Jijii/Ichi.

Ichi the Killer as a film seems to be a paradox. It is often criticized for having little – if any – character development; while at the other end of the spectrum is the overabundance of violent scenes. The lack of character development paves way for the movie to display the violent tendencies of its two main characters. Ichi the Killer is a non-stop gore fest – and this is the entire point. Miike Takashi intelligently explores briefly the background of Kakihara and Ichi’s violent fostering, which gives purpose to the sadistic violence found in the film.

Another paradox is, however violent Ichi the Killer is as a movie, artistically and theoretically the film seems tongue-in-cheek. Although Miike Takashi has directed children’s films (Zebraman, 2004) and art house films (Izo, 2004), it is his extremely violent yet cartoon-like approached films (such as Ichi the Killer, 2001, Gozu, 2004, Crows Zero, 2007) that have gained popularity and a strong following. An example in Ichi the Killer is at the beginning of the movie where we are shown a very realistic scene of Anjo violently attacking and raping a prostitute. Right after this we are shown a scene of an exaggerated bellyful amount of Anjo and the prostitute’s intestines covering the room Jijii is now trying to clean – all while the viewers are given childish manga music and sounds to accompany the image. Other examples are scenes like Kakihara cutting off his own tongue as requital for hanging a rival gang member on hooks, or the cartoon-like computer generated graphics that are shown when Ichi splits a person straight-down-the-middle in half. Perhaps this is to make the film theoretically enjoyable or less sadistic. Seems like an odd style, but this is a Miike Takashi film after all.

Ichi the Killer is an incredibly stylish film in camerawork, costumes, and character attitudes. As someone who works in the fashion industry, and lives life through being artistically inclined, I greatly enjoyed the artistic style of Ichi the Killer. It rivals some of the French New Wave movies in that regard, yet the storytelling and pacing is commercial enough for the daring. Speaking for myself, the stylishness gives depth to the otherwise grotesque movie.

I really enjoyed the extreme nature of the film (in style, art direction, and violence). In saying that, I feel very sick writing and recalling scenes from Ichi the Killer. Having seen many films before, this seems like the first I’ve ever felt so disgusted by a movie (even the more violent Miike Takashi ones). There is a reason why this film remains controversial to this day. I’m warning potential viewers of the films overly excessive violence, nudity, and sexual content. Ichi the Killer is not a film for casual viewers of any age. The violence pierces through your consciousness and leaves one reeling on hooks. I like the film – in a non-sadistic way – but, I have no desire to ever watch it again!

Categories
action extreme

“The Machine Girl”

The Machine Girl is an action film from Nikkatsu Productions, directed by Iguchi Noboru, and stars Minase Yashiro as the main character Hyuga Ami , a high school girl out to avenge the death of her little brother. The movie also stars Sugiura Asami as Sugihara Miki and Ishikawa Yuya as Sugihara Suguru, parents of Ami’s brother’s friend, who help Ami with her revenge. The main antagonist in this movie is played by Shimazu Kentarou, who is Kimura Ryugi, a yakuza leader of a gang that was descended from a ninja clan. This is a simple action B-movie with lots of gore, but I found the draw of the movie lies not in its excuse plot or static and stereotypical revenge-story character behaviour. The draw was in the quirky character designs, which I shall elaborate on later. The movie starts off with a gang of students bullying a boy by practising throwing knives at an apple above his head. They are about to bombard him with knives, but our protagonist, Ami, intervenes. She tells them that their gang killed her brother, and proceeded to cut off one of the bullies’ arms. Then she shows them her missing left arm, which she then attaches a machine gun to, which is the movie’s way of telling us that she’s the titular character. After the bullies are dead, Ami begins a flashback which tells us how she lived before, how her brother died, and how she lost her left arm and gained a machine gun. The movie then shows us Ami’s revenge against those that killed her brother, with some bizarre fight scenes and lots of blood thrown in.

When they are first shown, the good main characters look very ordinary while wearing their everyday clothing. The bizarreness starts when they pull out their weapons. The main antagonists almost always look gaudy. In Ami’s first scene, she pulls out what looks like a kusari-gama, which is a sickle-like weapon for ninjas, and while it’s not a commonly seen weapon, is not very impressive. However, the kicker is her arm-mounted machine gun, which, in its first appearance, Ami spectacularly makes a show of putting it on her arm stump. I’ll admit that I thought that looked really cool, albeit a little cheesy. The mildest example of the villains is Kimura Sho, the person bullying Ami’s brother, who wears a standard boy’s school uniform, but with a clearly expensive leopard fur jacket. Even unnamed characters get a chance at being weird; one of the bullies’ parents look like a typical husband and wife, although more good looking than most couples would be when their son is of teenage age. The father suddenly pulls out a golf club to attack Ami, and then uses two as the fight continues. What I find to be the most ridiculous of the designs is in Kimura Violet, Sho’s mother. She wears a lightly decorated kimono but with its chest area exposed, thus showing her bra, which is typical attire for a sexy villain. However, her bra itself is a different story; it’s a drill, and it functions as her weapon. If this doesn’t get you to go, “Wait, what?” you need to tell me what you’ve been watching as it is clearly more ridiculous than this movie.

The lighting during the scenes is another aspect of the film I’d like to talk about. It’s easy to notice that during the ONE true happy scene in the movie, which is when Ami plays basketball for the first time in the movie, that the lighting is much brighter compared to the rest of the movie. The colours are much more vivid and you can actually see colour in the faces of the characters, which is best seen in the following scene where she jokes around with her brother. The rest of the movie looks like it was filmed through a grey filter to show the grimness of the situation. This is especially evident in the very first scene where Ami saves the student from the bullies, where, except for the blood, it seems like the film is black and white. The second time we see Ami play basketball still has an uplifting mood, but this event is after we find out her brother was being bullied, and the lighting is no longer bright. Then the movie throws a more complicated situation. Ami, when starting her revenge, gave us a happy psychotic smile as she kills the family of one of the bullies, but the lighting is bright, perhaps to suggest that, while the movie is going towards a less depressing tone, it’s not going to return to the innocent tone it had at the beginning.

I’d give this movie a solid 7 out of 10, as I really liked the general weirdness feel of the movie, which most Hollywood action flicks don’t have today. The characters are kind of unlikable, but I don’t think the director wants us to like them, seeing as they’re all morally deficient in some form or another. While some villains can be extremely likeable due to how awesome they are, like Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight, none of the characters here, including the protagonists, was able to pull that off. The one thing I really liked about this movie compared to Hollywood is the camerawork during fighting, which, unlike Hollywood, is not shaky and focuses really well on the actions being taken. This serves to highlight the mediocre choreography and emphasizes the gore. So if you’re sick of being unable to see anything during fight scenes in movies, as long as you can handle cheesy special effects and fighting, movies of this genre may be a good place for you to start. This movie is definitely not for the faint of heart, however, especially with all the bizarre tortures and deaths.

Categories
drama, melodrama experimental extreme J-horror literary adaptations new cinema / new wave cinema

A review of “Blind Beast”

The Blind Beast, also called Mōjū, was released at 1969 and directed by Masumura Yasuzo who was recognized as the starter of Japan’s “New Wave” of the 60s. And the story itself was primarily written by Japan’s leading horror writer whose name is Edogawa Rampo. Other film cast members include Funakoshi EIji, Midori Mako and Sengoku Norijo. This movie was ranked as the number-one grotesque story in the Asahi National Newspaper between 1931 and 1932.

There are two main characters in the film. One is called Michio, a blind sculptor who is fed by his mother. His mother is a pedophile and gradually misrecognizes him as her husband. Another character is called Aki, a shapely young model, who is the only victim to form the basis of Michio’s latest project. The movie starts from Michio’s Art Studio when he seeks a suitable female model to construct into a perfect sensual sculpture. Aki, as an applicant, goes to the studio and is finally kidnapped by Michio. The rest of the scenes happen in the same place, which is the secluded warehouse where Michio lives.  The warehouse is designed very strangely. It contains a huge room with no lights and two of the walls contain large reproductions of female anatomy. In the center of the room, two giant nude sculptured bodies are lying on the floor. At first, Aki is distraught and threatens to kill Michio and his mom but gradually she begins to love him even though she has already tempted Mochio to kill his mother. The rest of the film is seriously filled with sadomasochism, sex, and violence.

The most important aspect of this film is characters because it is produced 50 years ago and there was no one making this kind of movie before its success. There are many naked and extremely violent scenes in this movie such as Michio chopping off Aki’s arms and legs. Those scenes required actors to devote themselves because no one knows whether this film is successful or not.

Another aspect of the film is camerawork. In order to make the horrific scenes, the director utilizes the static shots with huge body parts crowding into the full screen. And also, at the end of the film, most audiences can feel scared because the director delivers all the chopping detail to them.

Michio’s world is just like all simple animals because he can only know things by touching and smelling them. He only knows what he wants and just like this simple. This is pathetic of course. However, in my opinion, the “blind animal” should be Aki rather than Michio. There are many scenes contained in this movie that can prove this. For example, after Michio’s mother dies, he and Aki crazily make love in the dark warehouse. Therefore, Aki gradually loses her sight because she stays in the dark environment too long but she feels happy because she now is the same as Michio.

Another scene also can prove my opinion. At the end of the film, Aki asks Michio to chop off her arms and legs in order to obtain greatest happiness through this sadomasochistic action. This is never adapted by a normal person but Aki accepts this because she has already become blind and will never be a person. This film contains extreme violence and sadomasochistic sex. I would suggest anyone who wants to see this film that stays away from child. I would not recommend this movie to classmates.

Categories
extreme gendai-geki thriller yakuza

Thought-Provoking, yet Extremely Confusing, the Japanese Summer: “Double Suicide”

Japanese Summer: Double Suicide/ Night of the Killer (Japanese title: Muri shinju, Nihon no natsu), released in 1967, was directed by Oshima Nagisa and written by three writers, Tamura Takeshi, Sasaki Mamoru and Oshima Nagisa, who wrote Sing a Song of Sex (Nihon shunka ko), another Oshima Nagisa film. The main female actor Sakurai Keiko plays “Nejiko” and the main male actor Sato Kei plays, “Otoko”. This gendai-geki suspense-thriller seems to have had an impact from America’s race riots that were common in the 1960’s, bringing in the themes of sex and violence, life and death, through a series of interaction between the characters.

Nejiko is an 18-year-old girl who openly expresses her desires to have sex with just any man she meets. The opening scenes illustrate her abnormality within society, where she faces rejection from men in a political riot group as well as men in a religious cult group. The story moves when Nejiko picks up Otoko, a suicidal deserter who is looking for his perfect death, on the street. They move the scene to a beach, where Nejiko continues seducing him. Otoko is deeply trapped in his own thoughts about death, showing no interest in her approaches. Then, a group of uniformed yakuza men arrive on the beach to dig up a box full of weapons. Nejiko and Otoko are taken to the yakuza’s secret hideout as captives for witnessing the events. They are put into a room full of killers that include Omocha, a pistol loving old man, and Oni, a madman who finds joy in killing people with knives. Attracted by the violence, the killers have gathered from different parts of Japan in order to join the war of the yakuza. Soon, Shonen the gun-loving kid, TV and Tsukibito, the two men carrying a TV set, join the room filled with bloodthirsty men. Waiting anxiously for the next morning’s war, the characters discover through the TV that a young white Caucasian man is going around the city, randomly shooting and killing people. The men in the room are restless and anxious to kill, while Otoko searches for his perfect death, and Nejiko still continues to seduce the men in the room to sleep with her. The story dramatically changes pace when everyone discovers that they were all left behind by the yakuza and left with no yakuza war to fight in.

In the Japanese Summer: Double Suicide/Night of the Killer, Oshima Nagisa introduces a cultural parallel and connection between America and Japan, reflecting on a key theme of violence. Throughout the film, Shonen refers to the violence in America, especially of the riots occurring with the African-American population. Oshima Nagisa reflects on the social occurrence of the race riots, riots based on racial tension that were popular during the 1960s, showing the natural existence of violence in America. At the same time Oshima illustrates the abundance of violence in the room where they talk about these violent incidents, drawing a similarity between America and Japan. Also, Oshima introduces a young white Caucasian man that shares the thirst for violence. Through the stories on the TV, the Caucasian killer is portrayed to be a psychopath, but by the end of the film, his humane side becomes apparent. The Caucasian cries after receiving bread from Nejiko, helps Otoko carry Omocha after Omocha’s death, and fights alongside Shonen, showing a deeper level of understanding between the two characters. Oshima Nagisa points out violence to be a universal factor, occurring randomly and with universal understanding.

Another connection he created with violence was the corruption of the youth’s minds. In the opening scenes, while Nejiko’s abnormality is illustrated, Oshima introduces the social norms of the youth being the conformed and uniformed young men and women heading towards a political riot. Compared to such norms, Nejiko and Otoko, who appear on the same bridge, are much more free and natural. Furthermore, in the scene where Oni and Omocha are talking, they both recognize and understand Otoko’s passion towards death and Shonen’s passion to kill. The two killers agree that it was also in their youth when they were drawn into the world of killing. While the two killers were awakened at youth, Shonen, Nejiko, Otoko and the Caucasian killer, who are all in the midst of their troubling minds, are young. Oshima creates a definite connection between the youthful mind and corruption, showing such minds to be self-corruptive.

Japanese Summer: Double Suicide/Night of the Killer feels like an abstract representation of the sex and violence in the youth cultures of Japanese society. Despite the fact that the film was referred to as one of the best 10 films by Oshima Nagisa, I find it difficult to recommend to all viewers, especially for its violent content, containing offensive language, sex and nudity. As for the story itself, it was quite confusing what Oshima Nagisa wanted to do with the film. It was as if he wanted to show the corruption and violence in its purist forms, not including any meaningful message or plot to the film.

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