I'm a huge Miike fan- just bought this movie and I must say I was disappointed- it started out good w/ all the Miike trademarks (gore/raping/awesome sound effects) but then I just totally lost interest and couldn't follow. Anyone agree?
shareya i agree with you man
shareDon't agree.
You have to take on consideration that Miike was still searching for his director identity around this time, if you're watching the movie thinking that way, then the movie will become a nice visualization like it was with me.
In conclusion, the plot was good, the acting was average, the image was okay. Positive stuff. It got me hooked until the end and the end was also good if you think more deeper about it.
I agree that this is not one of Miike's strongest efforts. However, when you take into consideration the fact that this was in many ways Miike's first significant film, its startling how close he was to the greatness he is now known for.
One attribute this film has is that its a more human and emotional story than that of his more widely known (amongst "Miike fans") Fudoh. While that film has it all over Shinjuku Triad Society in terms of gory, audacious setpieces, STS is in many way the more ambitious film...with a few truly exceptional scenes: the grim opening images of bodies, the horrifying murder of a policeman by a gay hustler (hell, that whole bathroom encounter is memorably creepy), the "interrogation scenes," Wang's death scene, the shocking revelation that a "woman" is a hermaphrodite: these are all effective harbingers of Miike's future works.
The film is also essential in that it forms the first part of a trilogy that in many ways encapsulates Miike's entire "maturation" as a filmmaker. I've just started watching Rainy Dog and the improvements between STS and that film (at least during the first half hour) are breathtaking.
If you didn't like this film, do see the remaining two films in the trilogy...THEY are the true reason to start with STS.
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Which woman turns out to be a hermaphrodite? I didn't see this!
shareYeah, I missed that too...
************spoilers************
I love Miike, but this one...well, I had 5 attempts to watch this before I finally finished it (I kept falling asleep during it!! B.O.R.I.N.G.). I thought it was a bit slow moving. And whilst I have no problem with gay sex, I feel that this is just over the top. Maybe had I been warned, I would have still watched it. But it seems that according to this film, EVERYONE is gay. Yoshihito, Tatsuhito's (main police officer) estranged brother is gay and having an affair with Wang (head of the Triads). Tatsuhito even borders on it when he shags Ritsuko only anally (is SHE the hermaphrodite??). Even in the interrogation rape scene, the criminal seemed to not hate the treatment.
I think there was not enough action in this one. Had there been more shooting scenes, chase scenes, etc. I would have overlooked the constant blowjobs and anal sex. But to me, the actual story is relegated to a back story, with shagging the main theme. I still would have been annoyed had it been hetero sex, so don't think I'm being prejudiced. It made me think of one of those filme on Skinamax that are boring and show sex scenes every 10 minutes to make up for a lack of story...
For the record, I also found "Family" to be VERY boring as well (action only in the last 15 min it seems.).I suppose I will try the sequels, like I will see "Family II" just to find out what happened.
That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it...
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Well, that's early Miike for you - gritty, extremely low budget, etc.
I didn't mind the film. Found it to be in the same vein as much of Miike's early work... he definitely has matured over his career and has become more refined and polished, which is to be expected of any artist who tries to perfect his craft.
I'm a big Miike fan too, but this one just exemplified everything I've ever thought of as a weakness in his films. It's low budget meandering nonsense peppered with some weird sexual and/or violent scenes, with none of the inspired highs that made movies like Gozu or Dead or Alive so worthwhile. I was pretty tired as I was watching this admittedly, but still, I felt like I had no idea who these characters were or what they were doing. Really hoping Rainy Dog and Ley Lines are better; I was planning to watch the whole 'trilogy' in the next couple days.
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