There are some movies I won’t recommend, even ones I consider worthwhile viewing experiences. These movies push the envelope so much that a person viewing them might actually make a judgment on your character based on you admitting interest in it. Such a movie is Ichi the Killer. It’s at the same time one of the most violent movies ever made, but also with elements of allegory and symbolism reminiscent of European movies. The director Miike, has a singular voice in his film making. My take on the movie is that the character (Jijii), manipulating Ichi and the others into unspeakable acts of violence, represents the state. Through most of the movie Jijii is portrayed as weak but in the end he’s revealed as amazingly strong. Ichi is the pliable common man, the kamikaze pilot in service of the emperor. Kakihara and his cohorts are the outcasts alienated from the world, finding pleasure only in inflicting and in Kakihara’s case experiencing pain. In the end they each suffer a fate not dissimilar to what occurred in Japan after WWII. This move is bleak and perhaps unbearable to many. There is no self-censure to the harm inflicted to the characters in the film, be they weak or strong. The violence is so out there that sometimes it seems more like a nightmare than real action (and perhaps it is nightmare). In any case a film that leaves an imprint.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 14:16:35 +0000
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