The action and the road trip, the hyper-restrained interplay between Toshiko and Samehada, the yakuza boss actor's razor's edge blend of straight man and dire threat, the lethal slapstick of his gang are all riveting, hilarious, okay. The extremely slow burn, leading to deux ex machina betrayal, by the long-faced actor who frequently plays Beat Takeshi's second is just right. But best of all, both funniest and most frightening, is (I'm sorry I can't figure out the actor's or character's name) the buddy/assassin the hotel manager sends after Toshiko. The road-stop men's room sequence is just one of several superb bits written round this character. A very vague touchpoint for him might be the sporadically violent, reluctant loner at the center of Punch Drunk Love. But the Japanese guy's much more impish, more driven yet almost elfin.
Review of Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl
