Another classic mindtrip courtesy of Takashi Miike
My fiancee is a huge fan of Japanese cinema, but for the most part is a huge fan of the work of possibly the most certifiably insane man to ever get behind a camera, Takashi Miike. I too am a fan of his work, mostly because he's broken so many boundaries in filmmaking that the society needs to create new boundaries just so he can break them.
To say he's a cinematic genius is a bit of an understatement. He has done so many films it's hard to really know what his style is, since he never does the same thing with each film, each time he always does something a little different. I'm fairly certain that as we live and breathe that Miike's name will stand next to some of the other great extravagant filmmakers like David Lynch or even David Cronenberg.
anyway, I'm getting off topic here. Trying to describe or even explain just what is going on with the movie 'Izo' is not exactly easy, because you need to see the film itself. It's not so much a film as an experience.
The story essentially is about an ancient samurai warrior named Izo, he was the most brutal assassin there ever was, and he was put to death, he was crucified, but even then he couldn't die because he wasn't allowed into Heaven or even Hell. This frustration only fuels Izo's rage and so he sets about cutting a path throughout history to find the ones in charge, the Gods if you will and to eliminate them and damn anyone who gets in his way. And so for the next two hours we get Izo doing exactly that, killing all sorts of people, leaving a trail of bodies left and right, up and down, inside out and upside down all over the place as he makes his way to the those in charge. it's an insane tale because no one is safe from Izo's wrath, both the guilty and the innocent, his own mother, innocent children, a couple about to get married, vampires, gun toting soldiers, no one is safe.
Essentially the story can be viewed as one man's fight against the establishment, how one person all alone fights against insurmountable odds to achieve his goals. Throughout the film people basically try and plead with him, try to reason with him to stop what he's doing to just repent before its too late, or in other words to just give up and sell out and give up his individual freedom to do what he wants, his obsession is admirable but is also a bit flawed, because this film also showcases that violence is a never ending cycle as depicted in a very brilliant scene with Izo running on the symbol of infinity. There has to come a moment when enough is enough, because when all you know in your life is violence, there is nothing left for anything else, like love or peace or happiness, and this can be seen as over the course of the film Izo's anger, and bloodlust slowly transform him into a demonic creature, because with each life he takes he loses more and more of his humanity.
The acting, the action, the special effects, the camera work, everything is awesome. Of course its the sort of quality you tend to associate with a Miike film.
After watching this film, the only thing I have to ask myself is 'what is he going to do next?' I'm sure after you watch this film you'll be thinking the exact same thing, at least I hope you will.
Highly Recommended!
just try not to think too much about whats going on.
Having seen Ichi the killer and audition i stumbled across this special edition of izo in town on the new release wall and sparadically bought it due to the cool cover and Miike is pretty crazy and i was interested how he would do a samurai movie.oh but its not your typical samurai movie its miike's vision of a low leval samurai that was crucified then comes back as a unstopable killing machine that visits different time periods and slaughters everyone who stands in his way.easily one of the most violent movies ever .not as gruesome or disturbing as some of the stuff in ichi or audition but just more crazy sparadic killing.Thats were the problem sets in the movie is basically scene after scene of constant killing with some story thrown in between with old film of WW2 and other things then a song by a guy with an aucustic guitar.repeat.repeat.repeat that what this movie is composed of.i do respect what miike is trying to say and acomplish in this movie but it does try your patience,but it is for the most part a very beutiful,visual movie that i think you should watch at least once,but it is better the second time when you kind of realize what miike is trying to say and you can make some since out of the plot.or just watch it again for all the cool fights and non-stop killing.
If you want the full sledgehammer-to-the-stomach effect of Audition, stop reading this review now. Just watch it and take the consequences. At first glance, Takashi Miike's jack in the box of a movie works like a romantic comedy: amiable widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) decides it's time to find a new wife, and a friend suggests holding a fake audition to find the right girl. It soon becomes clear that there is something wrong with Aoyama's choice. This is no ordinary Fatal Attraction-style thriller, however; Audition slowly and carefully builds into a wrenching exploration of both deep male fears and the stereotype of the cute, submissive Japanese woman. Audition is by no means an easy movie to watch--even hardcore horror fans may have trouble--but it... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ryo Ishibashi - Eihi Shiina Director(s): Takashi Miike DVD Release Date: Released the 04 June 2002 This item is currently not available.
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Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Takashi Miike has a vision all his own. It's possible that Yakuza Horror Theater: Gozu (literally translated, "gozu" means "bull-head") is the ultimate expression of that vision, for here Miike is taking his V-cinema Yakuza-thriller roots and combining them with the outright weirdness that has informed his later work.
Teaming up once again with screenwriter Sakichi Sato (Ichi the Killer), Miike delivers a tale of a Yakuza underling who is tasked with taking his insane superior to a "Yakuza dump" in Nagoya and have him killed. The underling, Minami (Hideki Sone, who'd previously teamed with Miike in the Jingi Naki Yabo series of V-cinema flicks), still holds a great deal of respect for his... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Takashi Miike DVD Release Date: Released the 23 November 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In the realm of revenge thrillers, you'd be hard pressed to find more ultra-violent vengeance and psycho thrills than in the creepy story of Oldboy. This Korean import made a pop splash at the Cannes Film Festival and during its limited theatrical run thanks to the imprimatur of Quentin Tarantino, who raved about it and its visionary director, Chan-wook Park, to anyone who would listen. It's easy to see why QT fell in love with the grindhouse attitude, fast-paced action, violent imagery, and icy-black humor, but it's a disservice to think of Oldboy as another Tarantino homage or knockoff. The darkly existential undercurrent in the themes that Oldboy traces over its life-long narrative arc is much more complex and deeply disturbing than anything of its kind. The... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Min-sik Choi - Ji-tae Yu - Hye-jeong Kang Director(s): Chan-wook Park DVD Release Date: Released the 23 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This has to be the most outrageous and funnist movie I have ever seen. I think that the only taboo that wasn't covered was bestiality - maybe Takashi Miike's next movie. And to think that this film was actually shown on television in Japan - which I suppose is why (at least in my NR-version of the film) genitals were blurred out. Makes you wonder what type of subject matter the Japanese would consider as poor taste or out of bounds. In the U.S. this movie wouldn't even make it past the ratings board without getting an X rating. Some of the other reviewers wrote thorough enough synopses, so I won't repeat all that. I'll just say what I liked about the movie.
For one one thing I liked the way the movie keeps you off balance. As soon as you think you've got a line on what's... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Takashi Miike DVD Release Date: Released the 26 November 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Myself, I found it a "different" foreign film. It actually had a plot. She was treated cruelly, to be sure. The events in Frigga's life turned her into one cold, hard, calculating individual, whose revenge was total, and all-encompassing. That being said, there are some that may enjoy this "blast-from-the-past," but, had I known what I was getting for my money, I would had kept my cash in my pocket. 2 stars. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Bo Arne Vibenius DVD Release Date: Released the 28 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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