Wow, what an underrated movie this is!!!
It didnt have much hype for it at all, but it was just amazing!
It reminded me of a better, more crazy/wierd version of Silence of The Lambs.
Takashi Miike is a genius! This is another great movie from him and probably his most underrated movie imo!!
Go check this out if you can! Its out on DVD now in the USA! I ordered it from amazon.com
I agree. While it isnt his best, it's still pretty good I think. Though I am a huge fan of Miike, and murder mysteries.
shareTo add to that, his approach with respect to making an homage to film noir-era detective stories/crime thrillers, is evident. That being said, he does a fair job.
I think the film had more potential before it reached the last 15-20 minutes or so. At that point, it became very ridiculous and, as goofy as it was to begin with, it completely washed away all seriousness (I do not want to refer to exactly what happens, but if you've seen the film you'll know what I mean). Namely, the resolution scene.
Also, what damages its integrity in the final scenes is the complete loss of plausibility. To specify, all the secondary characters convene with all the primary characters at the climactic scene, and all of this happening too easily.
Aoyama's daughter arriving with the female correspondent of Raita (the detective); this occurring without any establishment of them knowing where Raita would be. Not to mention, everybody seems to all appear at once, conveniently, and implausibly before the killer incurs his final wrath.
In any case, the aforementioned were the main issues I had with the film, and could have been avoided or at least supplemented with a brief scene(s) establishing a connection between scenes. In the end, I felt that Miike was expecting us to accept too much hokiness, particularly to a degree that was beyond the seriousness of what the film seemed to be aiming towards.
There were a number of redeeming aspects. Namely, the use of atonal saxophones, which enhanced the mood of gloominess and helped depict an atmosphere containing a sinister, furtive underworld of crime.
There was a healthy blend of (dark)comedy, especially choosing times were it was acceptable. And overall, the pace was fair enough to keep me engaged, even though it's a premise that one has seen time and time again.
Clearly, the whole purpose is trying to retell the classic crime scenario, not only contemporarily but as a Japanese interpretation. Stepping the bar with grisly and odious scenes of gore, which, for a Miike film, are only standard. Yet, regularly unseen in the crime-noir genre.
I recommend for film-lovers, especially film-lovers who love crime thrillers; more especially film-lovers who love crime thrillers who can stomach nastiness.
As a film: 6/10
Good fun.
SPOILER ALERT!
Huge fan of both Miike and Nakayama, and I agree with you 110% Zoso8, because after Raita visits that creepy dude, during that scene the audience realize that eventhough Raita appears to be a goofball, he is actually very good at what he does, they should have gone for a bit more serious approach after that, specially during the climax, the confrontation could have been more epic and fierce, and both Raitas, Mika, and the killer was already too many characters, with that kid and all was just way too much.
" Look, there's two women fuc*ing a polar bear!" - Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas 1998