Heavily influenced by the surreal movies of David Lynch, and steeped in Eastern mythological references and symbolism, Gozu is a bizarre movie, even by Takashi Miike's standards. Having watched several of the prolific director's other works, I felt ready to tackle what is probably one of his more inaccessible works.
As it turns out, I wasn't! At over two hours long (unrated), Gozu represents one of the strangest movie experiences I have had in a long time, and I won't even pretend to understand exactly what Miike is trying to say with this particular film.
Minami (Hideki Sone) is a young yakuza who is instructed by his bosses to take his embarrassingly eccentric 'brother', Ozaki (Shô Aikawa), to the town of Nagoya to be 'disposed of'.
Minami reluctantly follows his orders but, before he even arrives at the town, Ozaki is killed in an accident. Minami stops at a restaurant to use the telephone and consider his options, but whilst he is in the restroom, Ozaki's body goes missing.
Minami's next couple of days are spent searching for his missing brother who eventually turns up alive and wellas a sexy young woman (Kimika Yoshino). With the new (and, in my opinion, vastly improved) Ozaki now reunited with his underling, the two return to the city to confront their Yakuza boss...
Despite containing enough weirdness for several movies and a memorable last 30 minutes or so in which Miike goes into off-beat overdrive, Gozu is actually quite a tedious film which often tested my patience (and my ability to stay awake). After a nifty opening scene in which Ozaki spectacularly kills a small dog by swinging it into a plate glass window, the film trundles along rather uneventfully for over an hour and a half. Even Miike's slow-burning Audition seems fast paced compared to Gozu.
Once Ozaki reappears as a woman, things get more interesting (although they are just as confusing), and the final couple of scenes are classic examples of Miike excess. Where else but in a Miike film can you witness a man inserting a ladle into his butt in order to achieve an erection and watch a woman give birth to a fully grown person?
If you're new to Miike's brand of cinema, then be warnedGozu is not a good place to start; even seasoned viewers of his work may struggle with this offering. As innovative and inventive as this movie is, I just didn't find it that riveting.
As it turns out, I wasn't! At over two hours long (unrated), Gozu represents one of the strangest movie experiences I have had in a long time, and I won't even pretend to understand exactly what Miike is trying to say with this particular film.
Minami (Hideki Sone) is a young yakuza who is instructed by his bosses to take his embarrassingly eccentric 'brother', Ozaki (Shô Aikawa), to the town of Nagoya to be 'disposed of'.
Minami reluctantly follows his orders but, before he even arrives at the town, Ozaki is killed in an accident. Minami stops at a restaurant to use the telephone and consider his options, but whilst he is in the restroom, Ozaki's body goes missing.
Minami's next couple of days are spent searching for his missing brother who eventually turns up alive and wellas a sexy young woman (Kimika Yoshino). With the new (and, in my opinion, vastly improved) Ozaki now reunited with his underling, the two return to the city to confront their Yakuza boss...
Despite containing enough weirdness for several movies and a memorable last 30 minutes or so in which Miike goes into off-beat overdrive, Gozu is actually quite a tedious film which often tested my patience (and my ability to stay awake). After a nifty opening scene in which Ozaki spectacularly kills a small dog by swinging it into a plate glass window, the film trundles along rather uneventfully for over an hour and a half. Even Miike's slow-burning Audition seems fast paced compared to Gozu.
Once Ozaki reappears as a woman, things get more interesting (although they are just as confusing), and the final couple of scenes are classic examples of Miike excess. Where else but in a Miike film can you witness a man inserting a ladle into his butt in order to achieve an erection and watch a woman give birth to a fully grown person?
If you're new to Miike's brand of cinema, then be warnedGozu is not a good place to start; even seasoned viewers of his work may struggle with this offering. As innovative and inventive as this movie is, I just didn't find it that riveting.