A playful, frenetic and experimental film about a Yakuza legend who is repeatedly sucked back into the tangles of the criminal world despite his best efforts to escape it. It's a difficult film to make heads or tails of on an initial viewing as the plot moves at an incredibly fast pace, often comedically so. It's intentionally disorienting and seems to encourage the viewer to find entertainment in the aesthetic rather than the convoluted plot. Thankfully, the aesthetic is up to the task as the film has an abundance of memorable locations and sets, vibrant colors, cheeky editing and an overall quirky sense of humor that keeps things compelling from moment to moment even if the overarching structure of the film is muddled. I didn't find myself emotionally invested in the movie and at times it was frustrating to follow, but I was consistently amused and often marveled at the images on display. The ending set piece was a stunner in particular. Absolutely worth seeing for the style-obsessed, but may be frustrating for those who favor a more traditional approach.
3.5/5
3.5/5