Rating: NNN
Director Takashi Miike’s outrageous Japanese gangster flick goes out of its way to offend. The opening five minutes are an orgy of violence in which yakuza gangsters cut a swath through downtown Tokyo, taking out rival gang members and behaving very badly. It’s hard to take any of the film seriously, as its tale of an emotionally frozen cop chasing down cartoonish gangsters comes across as violently obscene melodrama. Yet you have to admire Takashi’s ballsy filmmaking. He’s fond of long shots that take in gruesome scenarios, and he’s unafraid to veer into the comical. The final showdown between cop and gangster is reminiscent of the black knight scene in Monty Python And The Holy Grail. (July 19-21, Royal)
