Film Review--Ichi the Killer

Ichi the Killer’s infamy has preceded it since its release in 2001. Historically, I have been sorely disappointed in films that promise the extremities that they will go. It allows for unrealistic expectations, at least. I have always enjoyed the thrill of bringing home a video from the store that has a warning label, and have thus seen a lot of things I wish I could have avoided. Still, I seek them out for the rare chance of finding something that can live up to its promises. Because I’ve become so jaded to these promises, though, I come at them each time fairly coldly, expecting to be disappointed, but hoping to be shocked. One thing I can’t bring myself to hope for is that the film is actually worthwhile in some cinematic sense, beyond my own masochistic desires. And then there was Ichi.

The story comes from manga comic Koroshiya 1 by Hideo Yamamoto and tells about Kakihara, the right hand man of a Yakuza boss who is brutally killed by an unknown attaker. Kakihara believes (or hopes) Anjo is still alive and goes on a search for him and, eventually, his killer: babyfaced assassin Ichi. Seems that Ichi has an issue with bullies. His strongest memory is of being beaten up as a kid and helped by a girl who is summarily raped by the bullies, but Ichi was too cowardly to help her. He has never been able to rectify this in his mind and takes out his anger on the bullies of the world dressed in a cheap looking latex outfit with razor blades in the boots in bizarre and sadistic ways. As Kakihara gets closer to his goal, he sees the extreme sadism in Ichi and begins, in ways, to fall in love with him.

This is, arguably, the most violent film I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of very violent films. It comes in all forms here, from the cheesiest to the most visceral, and comes at you from all directions. The film could be easy to dismiss for its overt grotesqueness, but there is so much more here. Takashi Miike (who also directed cult favorites Visitor Q, Audition, and Happiness of the Katakuris and is as prolific as he is violent, releasing six other films in 2001 alone) works magic with a story that is typical in ultra-violent manga and Yakuza films, using the violence to move and change the characters rather than using the characters to exploit the violence. The actors are outstanding for this type of film, most notably Tadanobu Asano, who plays Kakihara, in an understated, subtle performance in an overstated, overt scenario. The soundtrack by Karera Musication (which is Japanese experimental group The Boredoms, minus Yamataka Eye) is an ever-changing montage of noise and music that often comments on the action on-screen, and is very effective. This film was a huge surprise on both counts: a truly brutal, but excellent film.

Unfortunately, as much as I may appreciate it, Ichi is hard to recommend to very many people. The extremity of the violence is a very real thing and, worse, a good percentage of the most realistic violence is performed against women. It is sickening to watch and, for a lot of people I know, a deal breaker. There is little to no moral stand taken on the issue of violence, instead it is a polemic on the effects of sado-masochism and, to some, the philosophy may come off as pointless (similar arguments have always been presented against Bataille’s Story of the Eye, one of my favorite short works and the finest piece of erotica ever written). But, if viewed with an open mind and a strong stomach, the artistic onslaught is often overpowering.