Sonatine

Takeshi Kitano's Sonatine (1993) is clearly the film that defines Kitano's trademark style: deadpan humor presented through a calm and peculiar form. As a mob war escalates a group of yakuza decide to go into hiding in Okinawa.

The premise sounds like something that could be used for a lot of suspense and action, but Kitano does not take that route. Instead he explores the way the gangsters spend time hilariously at the beach, which is interrupted by bloody violence sparsely. Kitano's humor is bright and truly funny this time. Solid characterization and the relaxed setting allow it to bloom to new heights. Even though a few themes do unify the film the focus is on comedy and rough violence.

The form is a bit exceptional too. The absolutely gorgeous photography, the calmly moving camera and calm editing patterns make the audience forget the passing of time - it's really easy to get into the film's world because of that. Joe Hisaishi's beautiful score is both haunting and relaxing at the same time - it works well as a cathartic device as well. There are a few moments in which Kitano's approach is quite awkward. For example there is one pivotal action scene that is handled in a dry way despite its slightly dramatic potential. I guess Kitano intended it to be blunt, but it has an effect which is too alienating.

Sonatine is an all-around solid film that is the best choice if you want to be introduced to Kitano's filmography.

Score: 8 out of 10

Kill Bill (Volumes 1 and 2)

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Quentin Tarantino's two-part action masterpiece Kill Bill (2003 & 2004) is probably one of the most famous cinematic efforst of the noughties. It is a wild story of a woman taking revenge on a group of assassins who put her into coma and took her baby. Whereas the first film is an outrageous, tongue-in-cheek combination of Japanese pop cultural references, the sequel mixes that pattern with spaghetti westerns and somewhat serious drama.

The plot itself is rather simple as the main character, The Bride, eliminates each assassin one by one before going after Bill, the biggest bad guy of them all. The films are ridiculously full of references to other films and cultures. The weird mixture of yakuza, samurai myth and God knows what else can be found in the Crazy 88's, a group of sword-wielding gangsters The Bride slaughters in a famous action scene. The epic setpieces are entertaining on their own and this one in particular is one of the finest achievements of the genre. And the best part is the climax of the whole setpiece: an elegant duel in a Japanese garden covered in snow. There is also an entirely animated sequence for the origin story of one of the assassins, O-Ren Ishii, which fits surprisingly well into the film.

The sequel is a bit rougher in tone although it manages to be funny at the same time. Although occasionally it is indeed a bit confusing as the balance between actual drama and silly entertainment does not work smoothly. However it's not a drastic hindrance when the film still features great action scenes (none of them rival the Crazy 88's sequence, though) and an interesting flashback storyline.

The form is a triumph in both parts. Tarantino's slick use of music is refined here - although the 2nd Volume pales a bit in comparison to the 1st one. That does not mean it is bad at all. The editing switches between intensive/kinetic and relaxed to create a funnily "charistmatic" tone at all times. Charismatic in the way that it makes the film easily entertaining and never lets the viewer fall into boredom.

Above all, Kill Bill is top quality entertainment that never pretends to be anything else - even I was easily sucked into its violent and simple-minded world.

Scores:

Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003): 10 out of 10

Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004): 8 out of 10

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Brother

Takeshi Kitano's Brother (2000) has an interesting premise: Kitano mixing yakuza and American organized crime through his deadpan comedy. He plays a notorious Japanese gangster who has to go to USA in order to avoid being killed. There he intends to gain power for his brother's small and pathetic gangster group.

Kitano avoids focusing on the details of how he rises to power and instead focuses on the humor and what comes afterwards. The rougher-than-sandpaper comedy simply does not work here. It is only amusing on a few occasions because Omar Epps is able to lighten up the silly English dialogue. Characters come and go quite chaotically. Sometimes it seems like Kitano is trying to establish an emotional connection with the audience, but he utterly fails because he either lets the humor run wild or the sentimental bits fall apart due to horrendous writing.

Kitano's "offbeat" cinematography and editing work in a satisfying way, but Hisaishi's musical score is awfully used because it does not fit to the dry comical tone at all. Kitano's and Epps' performance are fine, but they are the only actors given proper roles - the other characters are so uncharacterized or distracting that the actors can't do anything to save the script.

Brother could have become a fine film, but Kitano lost himself along the way.

Score: 5 out of 10

Dolls

Takeshi Kitano's Dolls (2002) follows three different stories that have one theme in common - love. There is the story of a couple wandering in surreal landscapes after they face an emotionally drastic challenge in their lives. Another story focuses on an old yakuza boss who suddenly remembers a girlfriend he had decades ago. The third story tells about a famous pop idol and her obsessed fan who goes to great lengths to stay in touch with her.

Kitano has all the ingredients for a great film. The storylines begin in a promising way, but fall flat sooner or later. The first storyline is overlong and redundant, the second storyline is somewhat decent, but the ending is simply too abrupt and completely irrational. The third story ends up being quite decent and fascinating - I wish it would have been extended into a full feature film. Kitano gives us hardly anything tangible in the film - it's simply too vague. All of the characters are detached from the real world by love, but nothing is made out of that. Kitano seems to have run out of ideas for his "artsy film" - especially the terrible ending proves that. Dolls tells you how not to end a film. Even though I hate the glaring flaws of the content, it has a few redeeming qualities - such as the fascinating characters and observation on love (even if it's too distant).

Kitano's form is challenging because the film runs at such a slow and dreamy pace that it can easily make one fall asleep. However, it is fitting for the film. The delicious cinematography kept me interested throughout the film and the poignant musical score was a nice touch on top of the nice visuals.

Ultimately, Dolls is an intriguing film which is sadly flawed and at times frustrating.

Score: 6 out of 10

Shinjuku Triad Society

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