Hey, is this cinema or is this cinema? It may be confusing at first but Suzuki soon gets bored with the predictable script involving a case of money and various top killers vying for top slot. Ostensibly the narrative continues but after about 15 minutes it's clear the director has other things on his mind. Like STYLE and does this have that ingredient in a massive amount. This never looks less than fantastic with a magisterial use of b/w widescreen cinematography and surreal close-ups. Great mix of (surprisingly graphic) sex and violence plus the ever present shootings. Sometimes extended and complicated and sometimes over in a flash. I gasped at the bullet through the waste pipe and marvelled at the gun through the advertising hording. Really splendid stuff and a super central performance from Jo Shishido. There, and I never mentioned that he gets excited by the smell of rice cooking - oops!
Review of Branded to Kill
