At a young 57 years old, Japanese director Takashi Miike already has an astonishing 104 films to his credit, most of them feature-length. Even more surprising is how good most of them are. A man of apparently boundless energy and imagination, Miike’s works cover nearly every genre imaginable.
His early output focused on crime and gang violence, including The Black Society Trilogy (1995), Fudoh: The New Generation (’96) and Young Thugs: Innocent Blood (’97). Though he quickly became a trademark name in Japan, the films that helped put Miike on the international map were Audition (’99), a nearly indescribable horror film, and Ichi the Killer (2001), an incredibly violent Yakuza film with a truly terrifying, messed-up protagonist.
The Happiness of the Katakuris (’01) followed; it’s a musical comedy about a luckless family which combines elements of The Sound of Music and Singin’ in the Rain, with zombies and a randy sumo wrestler. And don’t miss Miike’s Japanese Western, Sukiyaki Western Django (’07). The title tells the tale.
The last example of Miike’s audacious originality is Imprint (’06), an episode of the Showtime original series Masters of Horror, ultimately deemed unsuitable for TV, though it was in the later DVD collection. Remember: This was for a subscription cable channel!
Recently debuting in hi-def are two of Miike’s best and latest films, both derived from the time-honored Japanese samurai genre. Akira Kurosawa’s classic The Seven Samurai (’54) brought the genre to the attention of international viewers; Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (’00) helped renew its popularity in the West in a new generation.
Blade of the Immortal (’17), Miike’s 100th film, and the even better 13 Assassins (’10) are far more in line with Kurosawa’s lyrical realism than the more contemporary high-flying sword fantasies engendered by Lee’s movie, among others. Both Miike films are also rousing historical action epics, dealing with fascinating characters on the horns of a moral dilemma. Each a testament to Takashi Miike’s unique vision and unflagging imagination, the films should appeal even to those who’ve vowed they’d never watch a subtitled movie.
Set in the mid-1800s, 13 Assassins has a plot a bit reminiscent of Seven Samurai and its American remake, The Magnificent Seven. A band of 12 dedicated samurai (swordsmen for hire) plus one comic addition are up against incredible odds (a 200-man army). Prompted by duty and honor to put an end to the consummate villainy and sadism of Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki), heir apparent to the Shogunate, the 13 intrepid souls make a stand.
Led by aging samurai Shimada (Kôji Yakusho), the men realize their struggle might well be futile, but better that than ignominy, loss of honor and a wasted existence. The film’s first half details Shimada’s selection of the magnificent 12 and the preparations for the inevitable bloody battle. The last 50 minutes of the two-hour film are the battle itself-among the most prolonged and exciting such sequences I’ve seen. Its length and ingenuity are examples of Miike’s artistry and originality.
Much like medieval tales with knights on quests and the ensuing extensions of the same theme in classic Westerns like The Wild Bunch and Shane, Miike’s film is set in a historical time of change-the way of the samurai was yielding to a new order. More than just a thrilling bloodfest, Assassins examines the conflict between idealism and realism, personal honor and political exigency. In short, it’s thoughtful as well as rousing.
Blade of the Immortal (’17), based on a popular Japanese manga, taps some fantasy elements, but they serve to define the cost and demands of personal integrity and honor (much like Assassins). Except for the fact that the protagonist is “sort of” immortal, the action is quite realistic.
The movie opens with a black-and-white flashback: Manji (Takuya Kimura), a dispossessed samurai, literally takes on scores upon scores of bad guys, losing his beloved sister in the process. On the verge of death, he’s magically given a dose of immortality by a mysterious spirit. The gift turns out to be a curse and a blessing.
Meanwhile, the family of young Rin Asano (Hana Sugisaki) are slaughtered by another utterly ruthless villain (Sôta Fukushi), prompting the young girl to seek the services of Manji to be her avenger and protector. The two-hours-plus film follows their vengeful odyssey from one exciting episode to another until the final showdown.
Never silly nor preposterous, the major characters take on real dimensions and the action (mostly realistic and ultra-violent) is not of the comic-book variety. Like its predecessor, Blade of the Immortal is uniquely Takashi Miike.
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