Here's a bizarre and frequently outrageous Japanese thriller about a Samurai cop named Hanzo. Now, I'm sure you've all seen on-the-edge cops before along the line of Mel Gibson in the LETHAL WEAPON series, but Hanzo's madness is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The unconventional officer practices self-mutilation in one painful scene by kneeling on a bed of spikes while concrete blocks are lowered on to his bent legs, shown in graphic detail as the blood spurts from the wounds. Apparently it's so he can better understand the torture methods he sometimes practices on criminals.
The episodic plot may seem predictable but adds philosophy, characterisation, and strong themes of sex and death to the brew to keep things interesting. The film seems to have been made to deliberately shock the audience, like in one scene where Hanzo "helps" a terminally ill man by hanging him from the roof! Also, a strong undercurrent of sex runs throughout the film which may be offensive to some, although the comedic aspects of the tale are so strong (although unspoken) that it's hard to become to offended by the scenes. For instance, sequences show Hanzo "strengthening" his penis by beating it with a wooden bat and later using it as a method to "interrogate" his female suspects in scenes you definitely wouldn't see anywhere in a Western movie. Shocking and sexist, yes, but that's Japanese culture for you.
Along with all the sex the film has to offer, the violence is irregular but explicit. Hanzo breaks the nose of one informant, causing blood to spray everywhere, and in the film's gruesome highlight his house is put to siege by a group of trained killers whom he proceeds to kill in various blood-spurting ways (my favourite moment: two killers approach down a corridor, until spikes suddenly fly out of the walls to repeatedly impale them). Shintarô Katsu's acting in the lead role is compelling as he makes the character his own, so that it's difficult to distinguish between the actor and his creation. The film is complemented by a funky score and lots of arty dream-like shots to add to the mystery and weird nature of the film. An unusual but engrossing film.
The episodic plot may seem predictable but adds philosophy, characterisation, and strong themes of sex and death to the brew to keep things interesting. The film seems to have been made to deliberately shock the audience, like in one scene where Hanzo "helps" a terminally ill man by hanging him from the roof! Also, a strong undercurrent of sex runs throughout the film which may be offensive to some, although the comedic aspects of the tale are so strong (although unspoken) that it's hard to become to offended by the scenes. For instance, sequences show Hanzo "strengthening" his penis by beating it with a wooden bat and later using it as a method to "interrogate" his female suspects in scenes you definitely wouldn't see anywhere in a Western movie. Shocking and sexist, yes, but that's Japanese culture for you.
Along with all the sex the film has to offer, the violence is irregular but explicit. Hanzo breaks the nose of one informant, causing blood to spray everywhere, and in the film's gruesome highlight his house is put to siege by a group of trained killers whom he proceeds to kill in various blood-spurting ways (my favourite moment: two killers approach down a corridor, until spikes suddenly fly out of the walls to repeatedly impale them). Shintarô Katsu's acting in the lead role is compelling as he makes the character his own, so that it's difficult to distinguish between the actor and his creation. The film is complemented by a funky score and lots of arty dream-like shots to add to the mystery and weird nature of the film. An unusual but engrossing film.