Before I watched Takashi Miike's Shinjuku Triad Society (1995), I thought the film was supposed to be subtle. It might be that when compared to the rest of his filmography, but it's a description that simply doesn't fit. The film's chaotic narrative follows struggles among the yakuza and police, focusing mostly on two brothers who are on opposite sides.
The film's story is bewildering because the narrative wanders around so much that you don't realise what the film is about until you are in the final third. Violence and sex dominate the film - even to the point of ridiculousity as filmcritic.com's Christopher Null wrote: "You got oral sex, you got straight sex, you got anal sex. You got men, you got women. You got violent sex. You got prostitute sex. You got yourself a ton of sex here." Sometimes sex (and violence as well) is used well as a narrative device, but Miike simply includes too much of it. The story is a thematical mess as well - because it's too unfocused.
Miike still handles the form rather masterfully. It is a lot rawer when compared to his later film - I would even dare to say it is Miike at his "purest". The opening sequence is a great example of his great editing and cinematography skills. He makes the controversial and harsh content flow smoothly and effortlessly. The violence is striking in the best way possible.
Shinjuku Triad Society is an uneven film, but Miike is able to redeem it to some point - luckily he has improved a lot after making this film.
Score: 5 out of 10
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