BTW, saw this 2 weeks ago, with subtitles (yes!):
TAKESHI KITANO'S "THE OUTRAGE" - 8/10
Wellllllllll... Kitano, after his brilliant string of "arthouse" films (the beautiful Dolls, the headscratchingly brilliant Takeshis, the brilliantly headscratching Glory to the Filmmaker, and technically his greatest film to date Achilles and the Tortoise) which really really pissed off and confused his core fanbase for some ungodly, unknown reason.. look, dude has 5 violent films up until now, so he has 10 films that aren't "violent" films in any way. Why were people pining so much for this supposed "return"? Films like SCENE AT THE SEA and KIKUJIRO were just as good -- if not better -- than any of his yakuza films. I mean, seriously.
...anyway, regardless, the "fans" (or, rather, the people from other countries who make sure his films get screened and released, as long as they aren't too "difficult") demanded he return to his "roots" so here is THE OUTRAGE. And guess what? It's brilliant! I don't think extreme violence is necessarily what Kitano does best, and I thought the reason he stopped making these films was because he ran out of stuff to say and do. Where can you go after Hana-Bi? You've already revolutionized cinema, you know? His mix of lonely,
poetic violence with careful arthouse sensibilities was -- and still is -- completely unprecedented. VERY few films even come close to matching what Kitano did in films like Sonatine and Hana-Bi -- I think the underrated-as-hell Gonin (starring Kitano, btw) and a few Johnnie To films come close (this includes films To PRODUCED also; see the amazing 10/10 film "TOO MANY WAYS TO BE NO. 1"; the director of that one even said Kitano was his biggest influence. God I love that movie. It's on cinemageddon, y'all! Camera spinning around the room constantly, weird unnatural lighting.. there are two scenes where the camera is turned UPSIDE DOWN for the entirety of scenes. This film genuinely did something different wit the yakuza genre. I know all the camera trickery sounds like it'd be annoying or gimmicky, there's obviously a LOT more to the film than that. It's one deep fucked up entertaining film, rest assured. I just had to mention that 5 minutes of the movie are UPSIDE DOWN! HAHA!) to doing some interesting things, but Kitano really was -- is -- in a class of his own, in his successful melding of hardcore gun (and pencil-to-eye) violence and beautiful, almost OZU-ian poetic arthouse filming. Let's not forget Godard's clear and distinct influence; Hana-Bi is not too far removed from Pierrot Le Fou (couple kills gangsters after stealing money, runs away to the beach -- yeah, yeah, it's not identical, it's not a RIPOFF like Dead or Alive 2 is of Sonatine, but Kitano has noted the clear Godard -- as well as Sogo Ishii and Seijin Suzuki, two of the best filmmakers of all time -- influence, not to mention that the music in both films is similiar at times, in the deep yearning dark strings and so on). I think that's what really separated Kitano; he created his own style -- as a writer, director, actor, editor, as well as a brilliant PAINTER, dancer, musician, and he also wore many many other hats -- while respecting styles of other great directors, while not emulating the films of them (not many hardcore Ozu-fan directors make hardcore gun violence movies).
So, the OUTRAGE. Look, Brother was, in many ways, Sonatine-in-America, wasn't it? Well, hey, I'm not sure. I've only seen the American cut. I've read countless times that the Japanese version is quite a bit different -- hopefully, they cut out that horrible ending of Omar Epps going "I LOVE YOU MAN!!!!!!! LOVE YOU ANIKI! I LOVE YOU BROTHER!!!!!!!" which almost undoubtedly was put in as a joke, hopefully a parody of some shitty american gangster film Kitano saw. That scene sticks out like a sore thumb, as by far the most unintentionally (?) hilarious, stupid, and BAD scene ever filmed by Kitano. If you look closely
at that scene, it almost looks like Kitano didn't direct it.
To me, Brother -- at least the cut I've seen -- seems to be ... well, look, Kitano doesn't write scripts. He makes up shit as he goes along. So, it seems to be that he wanted to make one type of film, he got to America and decided to make something a little more interesting. But only a little more. It seemed to be about him not understanding american culture. Maybe almost being afraid of it. It kinda starts out like a Sonatine remake in America, and it becomes almost a parody of what a Sonatine remake would be, and a parody of American "gangster" films in general. If one observes Brother as a parody -- but still pays attention to its good qualities, because there are tons of good qualities -- it's actually a masterpiece. Still, I never felt it was a strong Kitano film, and despite having the best soundtrack of any of his films, as well as some of the best scenes (the dead bodies connected, spelling out the Japanese symbol for "death", the amazing paper airplane scene from the top of a very very tall building), it just felt like something was off.
This film most closely resembles Brother. Except that it feels like the movie at the beginning of Brother, before Brother humorously falls apart. You know, when it shows the scenes while still in Japan and whatnot, the deep, complex class struggle, the feuding between yakuzas and whatnot. So, it strongly resembles Sonatine at times too...
Strangely, it is flat-out a complex (not complicated, but complex) film. I was surprised at the amount of characters, all the action, all the little threads and arcs of things happening. The first 30 minutes might lose you, might bore you, but I dug the hell out of it. Take the opening scene, a long tracking shot, bathed in silence, of all the men you're about to watch commit murders. This scene is breathtaking. One thing you'll notice immediately is how good the direction is -- this might be Kitano's best-directed film. Also, the music -- while not a "traditional" Kitano soundtrack -- might be the best ever. It has an electronic tinge to it, but isn't cheesy or ridiculous in the least. It really helps in creating an amazing atmosphere, in fact.
Aesthetically, this film is mindblowing. And this is one film where you just never know what's going to happen next. I think this could frustrate people, though -- by the end, there is actually a lot unresolved. What seems like a complex story kinda falls apart -- clearly intentional, and the film remains engaging, especially in its deconstructing of yakuza film mythos. I get the feeling Kitano said "so.. people want violence? People wnat 'yakuza'? Let 'em OD on this." Most of his films have felt very deconstructive, and this one is no different. I got this weird vibe from parts of the film, almost like it was Kitano on autopilot, and also almost like Kitano saying "fuck you" to everyone and just going balls-out. He clearly isn't worried about story, after a certain point, or creating compelling characters -- indeed, every character is a horrible scumbag, and I'm talking EVERY CHARACTER -- Kitano is just interested in showing violence.
Still, no one films violence like KItano, and what's here is inventive, shockingly fresh, and downright FUN. Violence has rarely been filmed with such unrestrained artful glee. There's a lot of people getting hurt and killed, and these scenes EXPLODE, and usualyl come out of nowhere. So, the film is basically a series of people-getting-killed set pieces after a certain point.
But, like I said, it's fun. It's a lesser Kitano work, but that's still better than just about every director out there. I'd rank this on the lower end of the spectrum, just a wee bit above films like Brother and Zatoichi. It's a low 8. But it's still the best new film I saw from 2010, aside from ENTER THE VOID and SCOTT PILGRIM (admittingly, I didn't see too many 2010 films, but what I did see wasn't too hot. I mean, TRASH HUMPERS?! Come on)..
For Kitano addicts only, probably. But I'm one, and I dug it.