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Ichi the Killer Review
by Doom
The most violent movie ever made.
Ichi the Killer (or Koroshiya 1 in Japan) is by far the most violent and the most disturbing film I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Maybe it helped that I was under the influence, and that it was in a small theatre filled with a number of drunken college students at midnight, because I'm certain in any other setting I would have thrown up at least once. My experience with Japanese film has been limited to Akira Kurosawa's works (and Godawful Japanese horror movies), and with respect to Kurosawa, whom I think is the greatest director of all-time, he never did a movie like this. In fact, I think if Kurosawa was still alive and he saw this, he would promptly die of shock.
Anjo, the leader of a Yakuza gang, has been mysteriously killed. Kakihara, played by Tadanobu Asano, is one of Anjo's enforcer and believes he has not been killed and is simply missing. Kakihara is sadomasochistic and has a mouth enlarged by several inches through cheeks held together by piercings. So you better believe he's going to give out his share of torture and interrogation sessions to anyone who might have a clue as to where his boss may be. And the reason he's trying so desperately to find Anjo is Anjo is the only one who can give him the pain his sadomasochistic needs required. Of course, the audience already knows what has happened to Anjo (let's just say it's not pretty). So Kakihara begins hassling people who he thinks may have info as to where his boss has disappeared to. Though it's not so much 'hassling' them as it is hanging them from hooks and pouring boiling hot grease. When asked what he's doing, Kakihara nonchalantly says "Just a little torture, nothing special."
OH GOD
From my description thus far, some might think this film unwatchable. To this I disagree. What helps Ichi the Killer is a healthy infusion of black humor. After an intensely grotesque scene, when Kakihara cuts off part of his own tongue, he immediately gets a phone call and he answers it sans part of tongue, speaking on the phone in a hilarious way. One of Kakihara's mob contacts, Jiji is actually the 'master' of Ichi, the incredibly fucked up killer behind Anjo's death. Ichi is a very confused young man who's been programmed to be an extremely gruesome killer who confuses sexual arousal and homicidal lust. This is thanks to Jiji planting a fake memory in his head about watching a girl get raped and doing nothing about it other than thinking that he wanted to rape her. Like I said, this isn't one for the kiddies. Apparently Ichi was bullied as a child, and any time Giji tells him that the men he wants dead are bullies, like the ones who used to torment them, he unquestioningly brutalizes and murders the men he's order to take care of. Giji himself is an ex-cop who uses Ichi and a small group of cleaners (they, obviously, clean up Ichi's bloody messes) to destroy the Yakuza gangs. Giji also helps to cause inter-gang strife via planting false information.
More violent torture occurs, including ripping off the nipples of a prostitute, while Ichi kills a few more people in increasingly vile ways. Kakihara eventually gets kicked out of the mob for obvious reasons, and then attaches to himself the obsession of getting Ichi to hurt him. His painfreak girlfriend Tachibana (she speaks three different languages throughout, adding an absurdly bizarre twist) helps him in his quest. We also follow the subplot of a young boy, who is somewhat like the childlike Ichi, and his crooked father, who's soon one of the only enforcers Kakihara has. More slaughtering occurs until it's down to a final battle between Kakihara and Ichi. A funny moment occurs at the end when Ichi is passed out and Kakihara is still standing. He implores Ichi to get up and kill him. And then the movie leaves reality literally. I'll leave you to see the absurd and crazy ending for yourself.
What a movie! There are several characters who intrigued me: Kakihara, Ichi and Jiji. Kakihara in particular is hilarious to watch, in both his aesthetics (his purple suit and porno 70's shirt, combined with bleach blonde hair and a lot of metal in the face, kinda makes me want to dress like him regularly) and his manners of interrogation. He is one mobster who won't hold back. Ichi is one of more unique 'heroes' in cinema, insofar as I think he's the first protagonist to break into tears very regularly. The best part of Ichi/Kakihara's relationship is it's one completely imagined by Kakihara. He believes there's going to be some fabulous confrontation bloodbath between the two, yet it never happens. Kakihara wants so hard to believe this'll happen that he hallucinates Ichi slicing him up and knocking him off a building, whereas he really pierces his own eardrums and jumps off, unable to stand seeing Ichi kicked around by a little kid. Very unorthodox for a hero and villain to never confront each other. And Jiji, well, he's an old man one moment, and a fucking bodybuilder superman the next. How can you not love him? Though it's hinted at who Ichi really is, and Jiji's efforts in completely brainwashing him, much is left to the imagination of the viewer, especially when it comes to the ending. I hope there's a sequel to shed some more light upon the characters (well, the ones that are still alive by the end, if reality still exists by that point). Hell, the kid Takeshi killing Jiji at the end, thereby becoming the next Ichi (SPOILERS) leaves it enough upon for a sequel. Okay, I'll admit it: I want a sequel because I want to see more insane gore and slice/dice the Miike way.
Now, one could simply dismiss this movie as nothing more than a gorefest extravaganza and an exercise in extremes, which it is on one level. But that is only on one level (albeit a fucking great level). There is another level, a more intellectually challenging level that one really has to work at to understand. The story itself is hard to follow, what with the several different filming techniques used that demand the viewer to pay attention. And the ending seemingly at odds with the rest of the film. But when one finally gets to it, the bizarre sadomasochistic love story wrapped in a story about control and belief, where Ichi is a freakish Manchurian Candidate, it also speaks to us about the nature of violence in our society. Note how many scenes involve incredible brutality between two characters, with Ichi watching. He is aroused by this, and it can certainly be taken as a comment on how WE view violence - on the sidelines, revering it as this twisted sexual glorious thing. Then of course there's the unending cycle of violence that can become pointless and unrewarding because it will never stop, only sink more lives into it. It's definitely not the typical Japanese movie, where even the yakuza are usually given basic honor and nobility. In Ichi the Killer, each character is a sociopath who gets off to violence in one way or another, none of the redeemable, and I think that's what unsettles people most about the movie. There's no hero and no villain. Variable. No one is exactly shown to be immoral, everything is shown in an amoral way, giving you a solid third-person viewpoint, much like Ichi himself.
OH THE HUMANITY
Takashi Miike, the director of Ichi the Killer, is a very polarizing director. Since first seeing Ichi, I plowed through Audition and the Dead/Alive trilogy in less than a week. I love them, though they're clearly not for everyone. If you've seen Ichi the Killer, you can pretty much know what to expect in his other films, though not all of them are over-the-top gorefests. His style is flashy yet there's substance in each shot. I'm thankful there's a director out there to take such risks as the ones in I saw taken in Ichi the Killer. It could've easily been an overdone snuff film, but instead it's a thought provoking story with more than ultra-violence to it (like comedy!). Apparently Takashi Miike has a fervent following in the States, and I can see why. I've only been accustomed to his work a week or two, but already he's one of my favorite directors. He's done over 60 movies and makes about 5 per year, so there's plenty of material. Unfortunately, not much of it is imported here so you'll have to order DVDs from Japan if you want to see his less popular works.
The acting is very good, though I don't think bad acting would've hurt considering how over-the-top this film is. Japanese acting as a whole is far less reserved than American acting. Plus, I don't know Japanese, so line readings are hard for me to judge. The actors who really resonated with me were Tadanobu Asano as Kakihara and Nao Omori as Ichi. Asano plays the sadomasochistic weirdo to a tee, as does Omori as a video game playing, tearstruck crybaby psychopath. Everyone else's are standard over-the-top performers but these actors really stick out. Special mention should also be given to Alien Sun as Tachibana, the crazy three-language speaking quasi-girlfriend of Kakihara. Not only is she hot (before the whole foot thing), she manages to speak English pretty well, a feat unheard of for most Japanese actors.
Ichi the Killer features one of the more memorable scores in recent years. The score, done by a sideproject group (Karera Musication) of the art-noise collective Boredoms, is one of those that sticks with you long after the credits roll, like Fight Club or Pi. I would describe it as a combination of cheesy old American TV music and experimental excess (like a neverending drumroll). Whereas an American action film of this type would plug in some Drowning Pool crap, the Boredoms music gives it an otherworldly, disconnected feeling to it. Frankly, this is great tune-out stoner music. It's so great that Commando went on to learn the theme song on guitar. I'm yet again depressed by the American music scene, thanks to the Japanese extremely experimental noise rock that comprises the soundtrack for Ichi the Killer.
The action in Ichi the Killer will make you never look forward to seeing a Quentin Tarantino film again, insofar as Kill Bill is nothing compared to Ichi. It's amazing. I've never seen so much blood and guts in my life. Takashi Miike makes Quentin Tarantino look like Walt Disney. And he makes Walt Disney look like a Hallmark card. My favorite highly-disturbing and unnerving scene: Kakihara takes out the piercings in his cheeks and bites off a guy's hand. The second is anything involving the small razors on Ichi's boots. Every time those are pulled out, one can expect a geyser of blood to emit from someone. The whole movie is so disgustingly brilliant that when it was shown at the Toronto Film Festival, they gave away barfbags in case someone vomited during the movie. Which frequently occurred. And the sexual perversion typical of Miike's more extreme pictures is prevalent throughout. Getting off to beaten, bruised and bloody girls? Check. Sadomasochism? Check. Arousal after killing? Check (even with semen from acclaimed director of Tetsuo: The Iron Man to prove it!). Rape being used as both a cold opener and as fodder for laughs? Check (SHUT UP RAPE IS ONLY FUNNY WHEN A MAN'S BEING RAPED). You can see he didn't stop with sexual oddities after Audition.
This movie won't be for everyone - in fact, I doubt women will want to view it at all, thanks to the incredibly disturbing misogynistic violence against women in the movie that begins in the first scene and doesn't let up. But anyone who can stand to watch the movie without feeling violated will be in for a treat. A highly disturbing, profoundly violent treat. If you want to watch this movie, GET THE UNRATED VERSION!! I cannot stress this enough. I'm sure the R-rated version is even shittier than the R-rated version of Requiem for a Dream or the version of Mallrats they aired on ABC.
How many drinks do I need for this to be good?: 0,
technically, though I recommend you get either drunk or high so you don't end up
vomiting whilst watching it for the first time
Mastur-factor: Are you serious?
The Stinger: There's too much to choose from!
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD