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| ICHI THE KILLER. Starring - Tadanobu Asano - Nao Omori - Shinya Tsukamoto - Alien Sun. Director - Takashi Miike. From behind the curtain a faceless man ejaculates whilst watching the brutal gang boss Anjo beat and rape a young hooker into a bloody pulp. The cleaners are called in to remove any trace that Anjo was here. Sounds like an easy enough task? Unfortunately a quick splash of bleach won’t be enough here though, as what is left of Anjo is scattered from floor to roof and wall to wall in a manner even Damien Hurst would be proud. Kakahira, understudy to Anjo arrives at Anjo’s room to find no trace of him or the fact he had ever been there. Whilst the rest of the group fear the worst Kakahira believes that Anjo is still alive somewhere. Seeking clues from every quarter Kakahira and his men begin to torture their way towards the real truth. Rumours start to emerge of an assassin intent on destroying The Anjo group. He is Ichi, Ichi the killer! Based on the manga penned by Hideo Mamamoto, Ichi the killer is about as extreme as it gets. We follow the trials of Ichi, a psychotic, child like puppet as he is manipulated by the uncharismatic Jijii. For what reason though we never learn? What we do learn however is that director Takashi Miike is a very disturbed man. Blood is shed at every opportunity and over as far a distance as possible as we see faces slide down walls, bodies split vertically in two and women treated like dirt on the heel of mankind. This may sound a bit much for most people but if you like your cinema extreme then you will love this. Nao Omiri as Ichi hams his way through the movie and although portrayed as some kind of hero he never omits any kind of charisma, the same can be said for the majority of the cast with few exceptions. I did however adore the brutally sadistic Kakahira (Tadanobu Osano) sideflaps and all ;) and I was equally impressed by the larger than life Takayama as he orders his underlings around in search of Ichi. But don’t be mistaken, I didn’t watch this for the acting but to see just how far Takeshi Miike could go this time, and believe me, he has gone to the limit. I don’t think I have seen anything as disturbing as this since the psychotic Tetsuo the iron man raised his ugly head several years ago. What amazes me most though is just how much the Japanese film censorship board actually let through. The version I have seen is only listed at 115 minutes whereas every listing I have seen clocks the film at 128 minutes, which brings me to the question. Just how extreme are the sections that they have removed for the HK release of this movie. I didn't think it could really get much worse. 01/01/03 - I have now seen the uncut version of this movie and I still cannot see why these extra minutes were cut. Fair enough they are quite graphic but they are no worse than the scenes deemed passable for the cut release. For some Ichi the killer will be a fantastic journey into film making but for others it will be offensive and vulgar exploitation. I found the movie to be great fun and one definitely to watch with friends despite the bad acting throughout. Feminists beware though; you will not like this at all. 7*******stars. |
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