The Takashi Ishii Discussion Thread

[Psychocandy]

I have yet to sample any of Takashi Ishii's movies but over the course of the last couple of days I bought Gonin 1 & 2 and Black Angel 1 & 2. I've also been meaning to check out his Freezer for some time now. Have any of y'all schmoes seen any of the above (or any of his other works)? I'll be posting reviews of the Gonins and Black Angels as I watch them over the next several days. They were a bit of a blind buy so I have my fingers crossed that they don't suck.

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[Psychocandy]

Just watched Gonin. Pretty fucking demented little movie. Very violent and odd to the point of being surreal at times. The acting throughout was first class and some of the cinematography was breathtaking so I can forgive it the frequent lapses in logic (some of this may have been down to badly translated subtitles).

The movie is chock full of wince inducing moments of torture and a controversial homoerotic subtext that seems to be trying to draw a parallel between the acts of violence some of these individuals inflict on each other and their suppressed homosexual impulses. It kinda reminded me of the Yakuza thrillers of Takashi Miike but it's not quite as far out as Miike's work in this genre. However, there are moments when it comes damn close.

Special mention to Takeshi Kitano. It's a typically stoic performance from the great man but is no less entertaining for all it's familiarity.

The only serious criticism I have of this movie is that the characters backgrounds are skimmed over resulting in some confusion concerning their motivations. Once again, much of this problem could have been down to the obviously dodgy subtitles.

All in all this movie is well worth a viewing if you are a fan of the movies of Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano or even John Woo (it shares some of the elements of loyalty and betrayal that inevitably crop up in the latters movies). I'm gonna give this 3.5/5. With better subtitles it would likely warrant a 4/5.