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| Pain, mutilation and pleasure seem to converge on this raw poster for Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer |
The boss of a Yakuza gang has gone missing with a lot of money. Needle enthusiast/psychopath Kakihara gets to a conclusion through the use of extensive torture: It is a brainwashed guy by the name of Ichi who has murdered the boss.
Ichi the Killer is written by Sakichi Sato (Doreiku: Boku to 23-nin no dorei (2014)), based on the same-titled 1998-01 manga by Hideo Yamamoto (Homunculus (2003-11)), and directed by Takashi Miike (Shinjuku kuroshakai: Chaina mafia sensô (1995)). The original Japanese title translates to 'hitman one'.
'The Japanese are nuts. Totally depraved.' - This could be one fair takeaway from watching Ichi the Killer.
The story of the film is very strange, and it is mostly made up of torture and murder scenes, along with very long takes of things that are hard to comprehend, and a bit of dialog. Some of the setups are beautifully staged, and the sound side and special effects of the film are impressive.
Everything is aesthetic in this highly Japanese vision of horrific sadomasochism.
Related posts:
Takashi Miike: Imprint (2006, TV movie) - Venture far, far abroad with Miike's hard-to-watch Masters of Horror entry
1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Audition/オーディション (Ōdishon) (1999) - Miike hamstrings your sleep
Watch a trailer for the movie here
Cost: Estimated 1.4 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[Ichi the Killer premiered 14 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 130 minutes. Shooting took place around August 2000 in Tokyo, Japan. Details surrounding its commercial performance in Japan and the few other markets it was released in (besides a long list of festival screenings) are regrettably hard to come by. The film was banned in Norway and Malaysia and cut in other countries. Miike returned with Agitator/Araburu tamashii-tachi (2001). Tadanobu Asano (Shogun (2024, TV-series)) returned in Mizu no onna (2002); Nao Ômori (First Love/Hatsukoi (2019)) in Quartet (2001). Ichi the Killer is fresh at 65 % with a 6.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Ichi the Killer?
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