極道大戦争 (Yakuza Apocalypse) (2015)

Director: Takashi Miike
Writer:    Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
Cast:       Yayan Ruhian, Riri Furanki, Hayato Ichihara
Language: Japanese

In the ruthless world of the yakuza, no one is more legendary than boss Kamiura. Rumored to be invincible, the truth is he is a vampire- a bloodsucking yakuza vampire boss! When he is assassinated by an International syndicate, he just manages to pass on his vampire traits to a young Yakuza, Kagayama, whom he had taken under his wings. As Kagayama struggles to come to terms with his new-found abilities, things go out of hand as more and more civilians are converted to vampires and the Yakuza start facing an existential crisis due to lack of civilians. If that is not crazy enough for you, enter the super-villain teletubby, which can make earth-quakes happen.

In Hollywood, it is common to have a genre getting revived all of a sudden and it becoming a sort of fad. This is exactly what happened to the vampire genre, which came after the Zombie fad. Most of these films turn out to be trite but you do get interesting films that can be considered as genre-benders when the fad is kind of fading. That happened to the Vampire genre with three great ones coming out in succession last year- Only Lovers Left Alive, What We Do in the Shadows and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. When you were just thinking the genre is kind of dead on its feet, here comes Takashi Miike with a film that mixes vampire genre with yakuza and an apocalypse. Just that he doesn't adhere to the vampire rules like not being able to handle the sun and things like that.

Generally Miike kind of go for very violent difficult to watch first halves which then transforms into comedies during the second half. This one is comedic from the get go and there aren't that many stomach-churningly violent scenes. Don't know whether it is a case of me being desensitized to it. The film is mad as hell, just read the synopsis to get an idea, and I interpreted the English speaking syndicate and the teletubby character as Miike making fun of juvenile Hollywood crap dominating Japanese box office. There is even a Darth Vader aspect to that character and the ending fist fight scene at the climax is also poking fun at Hollywood action films which generally go for over the top destructive explosions while filming action sequences, Man of Steel for eg. It is not really a fist fight, but just two guys finding out who can survive when they are just punching the other's face in a round robin basis. That is just as anit-climactic that you can possibly get. 

Overall, it is a great watch but might not be suitable for everyone. If you are familiar with Miike's work, you might be taken aback by its relative light-naturedness. I generally find his films to be in the very good category without being great but the genre films that he is churning out lately have been quite great. But I do think it is an acquired taste and you should be familiar with his work to enjoy the humor in Yakuza Apocalypse. 

Rating: 4/5

一命 (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai) (2011)

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers:  Kikumi Yamagishi, Yasuhiko Takiguchi (Novel)
Cast:       Koji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka
Language: Japanese

A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his Ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord. 

Ronin (浪人)-A master-less samurai in feudal Japan.

Seppuku/Harakiri (切腹)-A form of ritual suicide by Japanese Samurai done by stomach stabbing while another samurai acting as their second by cutting off their head.

Film is a remake of Masaki Kobayashi's 1962 film 'Harakiri'. We are familiar with glorification of Samurais through several Japanese films and even some Hollywood ones. The film that Miike directed just prior to this film was also one such action film- '13 Assassins'. But in this one, the ludicrousness of Samurai honor and rituals  is the central theme which is a subversion of the genre. It was common in Japan for Ronins to commit harakiri at some noble house. There could be people feigning Seppuku so that they get money from the nobles who try to dissuade them. Film begins with an old Samurai requesting a Lord at a noble house to commit harakiri there. The Lord tells him the story of another one that came there recently to extract money by feigning Seppuku. In order to set an example, the Lord forces him to commit Harakiri. Then the old samurai proceeds to tell his own story and we learn that the other one was his son-in-law who needed money to provide medical care for his feverish son and wife. He calls them out on the ridiculousness of their tradition of honor and highlights that the fate of a samurai is very much in the hands of blind chance. The Japanese title of the film translates as 'A Life'.

The depiction of abject poverty and hunger is not something that we associate with these kind of films and Miike continue to surprise everyone with the choices that he makes. It is hard too keep up with his vast body of work, and all the films that I've seen from him have met a minimum quality standard with some of them being outright great (Odishon, 13 Assassins, Dead or Alive). In this one also he leaves a very hard to watch scene of tremendous violence involving Harakiri with bamboo sword. I guess it wouldn't be a Miike film if it doesn't make you squirm at some point. As is expected from Miike, cinematography is excellent but I would have preferred to watch a better quality print of the film. It is the first 3-D films to get official selection at Cannes and overall it is a great watch. The first film that I saw of his was 'Ichi the Killer' and I stopped after watching for about thirty minutes because of the violence. Finished it the next day with the conclusion that it is a comedy film. 

Rating: 4/5

                                                                       

Gozu (2003)

Director: Takashi Miike
Writer:    Sakichi Sato
Cast:      Yuta Sone, Sho Akiwa, Kimika Yoshino
Language: Japanese

A Yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.

Channeling the spirits of David Lynch's surrealism and David Cronenberg's body horror, this is another mindfuck from the Japanese film machine that is Takashi Miike. The film starts off nicely enough in a genre conforming way unlike Miike's films but soon enough descends into the realm of horror surrealism. As is usually the case with Takashi Miike's films, it ends up as a farcical comedy with a literal 'Anti-Climax'. Film ends with the image of three main characters living happily in an implied menage a trois arrangement. Miike operates in our Freudian sub-conscious territory.

The film was meant for a straight to DVD release but it was well received at Cannes and it led to a theatrical release. A must watch for people who are familiar with Miike's work and for others, they might be better to start off with his other works like Odishon or Black Traid Trilogy.

Rating: 3.5/5

Ôdishon (Audition) (1999)

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers:  Ryû Murakami, Daisuke Tengan
Cast:      Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki
Language: Japanese
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.

The film is not as gory as Miike's other films but is more disturbing than them nevertheless. Not for the fainthearted and you will get an idea from the trailer itself. Kiri,,Kiri,,Kiri...

Rating: 4/5

Nihon kuroshakai (Ley Lines) (1999)

Director:   Takashi Miike
Writer:      Ichiro Ryu
Language: Japanese
A group of Chinese youth living in Japan struggle to make their way in life and eventually find trouble with the local crime syndicate.

This is the final film in Dark Society trilogy and the weakest of the lot. Didn'y like it all and couldn't finish it.

Rating: 1.5/5

Gokudô kuroshakai (Rainy Dog) (1997)

Director:   Takashi Miike
Writer:      Siego Inoue
Language: Japanese
A Japanese assassin stranded in in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when  suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.

Its the second film in the 'Dark Society' trilogy though you don't need to watch it any order. Its more of a Takeshi Kitano film than a typical Miike film. Reminded me of 'Kikujiro' with added violence but noway close to the amount usually in a Miike film. Good watch it is.

Rating: 3.5/5

Shinjuku kuroshakai: Chaina mafia sensô (Shinjuku Triad Society) (1995)

Director:   Takashi Miike
Writer:      Ichiro Fujita
Language: Japanese
Amidst a Chinese and Japanese mafia war, a lawyer for the Chinese mob finds a rift forming between him and his corrupt police office brother.

Its the oldest Miike film to get a DVD release in US. Its also the first part of a trilogy known as 'Black Society Trilogy'. Its a good genre film in Miike style.

Rating: 3/5

Jûsan-nin no shikaku (13 Assassins) (2010)

Director:   Takashi Miike
Writers:    Kaneo Ikegami, Daisuke Tengan
Language: Japanese
A group of assassins come together fro a suicide mission to kill an evil overlord.

The first of the hour shows why and how the assassins are assembled and the second hour shows the epic battle which is almost an hour long. Its violence done beautifully and not in a gory way like in other Miike films. Good performances and characterization considering its a genre film.

Rating: 4/5