Gozu

Horrorphile

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Gozu

May 26th 2008 07:52

Okay, so there are strange films, and then there are weird films, and then there are ones that are truly bizarre. Takashi Miike’s Gozu (2003) is one phreaky motherfucker. Ahem. You thought El Topo (1971) and The Holy Mountain (1975) were surreal? You thought Eraserhead (1976) and Lost Highway (1997) were off the planet? Try Gozu; it’s Outlandish (yes, with a capital O).

Untied to any specific genre, Gozu plays with all manner of cinematic narrative devices, twisting and screwing with the audience's perspective and perceptions as its central character’s plight and the movie’s narrative arc undulate in and around each other. It's a thoroughly unpredictable cinematic journey through an Oedipal Hell, a mutant odyssey of sorts, from the death of purity and innocence, to the rebirth of fraternity and sexual identity. It's crazy and cool like only Japanese cinema can be.

Renji Ashibashi as the kinky Yakuza boss

Minami (Hideki Sone), a member of the Azamawari yakuza crew, highly respects his “Aniki” (Brother) Ozaki (Sho Aikawa) who has saved his life in the past. However Ozaki's eccentricities and irrational behaviour have been making the crew wonder about his sanity. The Azamawari boss (Renji Ashibashi) secretly orders Minami to take Ozaki to a disposal facility in the city of Nagoya.

Sho Aikawa as Brother Ozaki

Before they get to the disposal facility there is a confrontation with a white car that appears to be following them (white plays a big part in the movie’s complicated use of symbolism) and Ozaki collapses dead leaving Minami confused and unsure how to proceed. He takes time out in a diner, where the clientele and staff are weirdos. However after returning from the bathroom he discovers the body of Ozaki is missing from the car. Now things are getting really strange.

Minani (Hideki Sone) and his oddball acquaintence Nose (Shohei Hino) smell something fishy

There’s really not much more I can say without making a complete tit of myself. Gozu demands an open mind. It confounds, but ultimately it rewards … in a perverted sense. Like surrealist directors David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky, Takashi Miike is not interested in giving the audience all the information when they expect it. Like a dream or nightmare, there can be a peculiar madness to the methods of narrative which Miike uses to describe the story.

Minani gets up close and personal with the dream demon

For the most part Gozu plays more like a psychological thriller - with a blackly comic streak - on serious slow burn. But there are definitely moments and whole scenes where the mood and tone descend further and darker, into paranoid nightmare territory. There is a dark sexuality at play within Gozu, and it rears its head from time to time. The movie’s last ten-to-fifteen minutes it all goes very hurly-burly and the visceral head of horror shrieks out with sheer abandon. Then just to make sure we didn’t get off too easy Miike tags the end of the movie with sheer “What the fuck?!”

Kimika Yoshino plays the alluring female version of Ozaki ... just to throw a little more confusion in this heady brew

Yes Gozu (which translates as Cow-head) is a movie to be reckoned with, especially if you were thinking of a lazy Sunday on the sofa with the lover casually eating popcorn and slurping a beer. Think again. Gozu does not suffer fools lightly. It thrashes and writhes, then lies stone cold dead like a snake or a crocodile, waiting … waiting. Deliberately languid in its visual style, with many long, lingering takes, but great use of sound and some excellent, icky special effects too. It's a puzzle, with some of the pieces missing, of course.

In one of horror cinema's more uniquely unnerving scenes ... Ozaki is reborn

The screenplay was penned by Miike’s colleague Sakichi Satô , who also wrote Takashi Miike’s Ichi the Killer (2001). Apparently Miike gave him one week to write a script; Gozu was the result. Hmmm, I’m not sure what to make of that. Inspired lunacy, or self-indulgent nonsense? Gozu sorts the children from the adults, the boys from the girls, the virgins from the sluts, the molls from the gangsters, and the pure from the corrupt.

Gozu … is … Gozu: Yakuza horror theatre. See you on the other side. There’s nothing more to say. Perhaps a nervous laugh?

Here's the excellent Japanese trailer:

Gozu DVD is courtesy of Siren Visual, many thanks!

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

10 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Ayda

May 26th 2008 08:23

Phantasmelodia

Imagine what he would have come up with if Miike gave Sato, say, a month? Is that an ox and a man making out, I'm seeing?

Yea, I thought so...

Comment by Bryn

May 26th 2008 08:36

Horrorphile

Ayda, haha, yeah ... although some of the greatest screenplays have been knocked out very quickly ... Automatic writing I think they call it

...

Comment by Damo

May 26th 2008 09:25

White is the colour funerals in most of Asia.
This looks like a hoot.

Comment by Michaelie

May 26th 2008 10:25

Flick Wit

Holy shit. That's mad.

I've only seen One Missed Call. Have you seen Ichi the Killer??

<<Ok just looked his picture up, had never actually seen him before... >>

...Except I have seen Hostel... What is he, the Anna Wintour of Japanese film? What's with the sunglasses?

I read last week he's going to feature in Enter the Void.

Michaelie

Comment by Cibbuano

May 26th 2008 23:15

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

I'd definitely give it a shot, though it'd probably put me on edge...

Comment by Bryn

May 27th 2008 03:05

Horrorphile

Damo, and a hoot it is .... nudge, nudge.

Michaelie, I haven't seen One Missed Call yet ... But my Ichi the Killer review just went up

Why the Hostel mention?? Yeah, Miike thinks he's pretty cool, looks like he comes from the Wong Kar-wai school of filmmaking (ie never takes his shades off) ... I don't know much about Enter the Void, I'll look into it ... cheers.

Cibby, it'll put you on edge a little, just a tad, a wee one. heh, heh ...

Comment by Always Eighteen

May 27th 2008 05:21

Always Eighteen

Having seen Ichi the Killer as well as Izo, I think I'll give this insanity a miss... until I get bored with life again. I'm still trying to get over that really muscly guy and the tongue torturing from Ichi the Killer.

Comment by Michaelie

May 27th 2008 06:47

Flick Wit

I'll take a look at your Ichi review soonest. I posted a couple of days ago re: Enter the Void.

Hehe.

Hostel - I read somewhere he has a cameo, but I don't remember him, even since looking for his pic. Might have to watch it again and see...

Mich

Comment by Nathan 1

July 19th 2008 02:09

I just watched this one and it was great, because the 2hours flew by. There are so many ways to interpret this film, but on wikipedia it says that the dialogue and scenes were all improvised. It seems Miike can just stumble upon insinuation accidentally. I thought the whole thing was about Minami losing his virginity. What about you?