Ichi the Killer (2001)
April 6th, 2007
Disturbing Japanese ultra-violence, directed by Takashi Miike (Bird People in China). But this is nothing like the whimsical Bird People in China.
Ichi the Killer shares several motifs with the Korean gore-fest Oldboy by Park Chan-Wook, made two years later, among them: Post-hypnotic suggestion, childhood bullying leading to adult revenge, and a graphic tongue-severing.
Ichi is a baby-faced psychotic killing machine who wears a rubber superhero suit with the number 1 on the back. (”Ichi” is Japanese for “one”.) He has razor shoes that can cut people in half.
Ichi
A victim
Ichi’s main adversary is Kakihara, a sadomasochist who likes to torture his enemies by piercing them with sharp steel skewers. He is himself alarmingly pierced and mutilated, sporting deep slashes extending the corners of his mouth into his cheeks and held together by studs. Early on he lights a cigarette and blows smoke out of his cheeks. Enjoy!
Kakihara
The plot seems confusing at first, but soon the pieces will fall into place. It isn’t that complicated once you get used to the exotic milieu and the subtitles.
Some of the violence is almost unbearable. Scenes of tortured and mutilated women are especially hard to take. Maybe if you watch this kind of movie a lot you get used to it, but if you don’t you will probably have to close your eyes quite often.
Like Park Chan-Wook’s vengeance trilogy, it’s hard to talk about this movie without mentioning Quentin Tarantino. Ichi the Killer has a Tarantino-like scene where everyone has a gun aimed at everyone else.
I only recommend this movie if you can stomach this sort of thing and find some value in it. Of its kind, this is a really good movie. I do tend to find value in it, but with extreme reservations. It explores a variety of themes, but they are strange Asian ones involving rape fantasies regarding schoolgirls and guilt stemming from childhood powerlessness. These aren’t themes that resonate with me in a personal way, but they seem to be a driving force behind a thriving Asian film industry that is providing a model for Tarantino and others in the west. I think students of film need to attend to this stuff, at least to some degree.
Apart from the ultra-violence, Ichi the Killer is very slick and stylish. Some scenes are strong in their own right, such as the showdown on a rooftop when Ichi, shot in the leg, writhes in anguish as trumpets play a Lonely Bull-like theme on the soundtrack.
But in general: Nope, don’t watch it. I recommend Shrek.
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