Sukiyaki Western Django (JP) (V)
| release date | November 11 2008 |
| studio | First Look Studios |
| director | Takashi Miike |
| writer | Masaru Nakamura, Takashi Miike |
| starring | Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, Masanobu Ando, Quentin Tarantino |
| site | django-movie.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
2 Comments
I usually try to find the good and the bad with all films, and at the very least I try to sound impartial when I review things. But why bother. This was possibly one of the most entertaining, visually pleasing, and conceptually brilliant films I have seen in a long time, executed to perfection. If I could give it 11 out of 10, I would.
The story is a familiar one, based on Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Technically, its based on Django, based on For a Fistful of Dollars, based on Yojimbo, but why split hairs. At its core, there is a tale of two rival gangs both sapping everything that is vital out of a small town during the Gempei wars. Into this setting walks a relatively anonymous hero, quite immaculately devoid of backstory, whose incredible skills with a pistol make him a must-have commodity for both gangs. Our hero uses this to his utmost advantage. Without getting into too many details and spoiling the plot, it is a complex story of gang dominance, individual heroics, and an intricate storyline featuring numerous colorful characters. And it’s immaculate. Comical, graphic and bloody, full of intense action, brilliant twists on the original films as well as adding a lot to it. Witty dialogue delivered in that typical ‘bad western’ style poor english just perfects an already brilliant film. Heck, I even thought Tarantino was superb, and usually he just plays his own talkative self.
Now some notes of caution should be thrown into any good review. The film is an all-japanese cast (minus Quentin Tarantino) by a Japanese director. Some not too familiar references are to be expected, including the amusing takes on the historic Tale of the Heike (not to be confused with the romantic novel Tale of the Genji) whereby the very clans involved, both representative of the Taira and Minamoto clans (Heike and Genji), are aware of the historic precedent. This culminates in a brilliant scene where leader of the red Genji clan renames himself Henry in an effort to change history to mimic the War of the Roses, where the Red Rose of Lancaster triumphed over the White Rose of York. Lancaster’s most prominent figure, Henry Tudor, and Henry Vi. And the films great historicism does not end there, as it begins with a modified passage from the Tale of the Heike, the original which reads: “The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind”. The film shows a great deal of Historical awareness in that sense, and to fully appreciate its depth, it can be worth reading up on these things. Fortune smiled upon me in that sense, as I’m a student at York who grew up in Japan. Both histories are familiar to me.
Also worth adding, is that some people will find the language frustrating. It is in its essence a film made by Japanese for Japanese, and the English used is indeed a pigeon Engrish that may perplex some. Perhaps a viewing with subtitles is in the offing. Some will figure out the words without help, and others will be too impressed by the art and style of the film to mind if bits of the plot are lost. Seeing the film in the cinema in Tokyo, I can safely say the language is perfectly comprehensible. But if English is your first language, and you aren’t used to having to listen up, get the subtitled version.
To reiterate, the film is greatness all around in every way, a must see for anyone who ever saw a samurai film, or a western film, and liked it. This was, the perfect film.
I’m not entirely sure I understood the plot of Sukiyaki Western Django, mainly because I couldn’t understand the dialogue very well, but I still can say it’s unlike anything I have ever seen. In a time when ridiculously unoriginal films are hailed by critics and average viewers alike, it’s great to see something truly different come to the screen. Sukiyaki Western Django takes the oldest subgenre in American cinema, the western, and spins it until it is original again–and it works.
I have never been a Takashi Miike fan at all, honestly. I have only seen this and Audition, but Audition was boring and cliché enough for me never to give him a second thought. Sukiyaki Western Django, however, shows his true capability as a director and that he isn’t just another run-of-the-mill carbon copy like I originally thought after viewing Audition.
Sukiyaki Western Django is very dialogue heavy, but it still packs a lot of action and a lot more character deaths than is standard for this type of film. People are calling this movie gory, but it isn’t. The blood is pretty generic and typical, though maybe a little more than your standard action flick. This didn’t really disappoint me as much as it does in other movies, because blood isn’t really needed in Sukiyaki Western Django. It carries itself with style and a lot of intense action.
I think the reason this film is getting so many negative reviews is because people don’t get it. You really have to be a fan of the genres it imitates to understand it fully, even though the plot is simple. Two rival gangs, and one man, a gunslinger, they both need. The rest is a mix between action and art that simply stunned me. The town itself is so diverse it almost becomes its own character, and in a way it is. The aesthetic of some of the action scenes go so much further than the typical slow-mo Matrix rip-off you’re used to and really creates a style all its own. The technical beeps in the background gave off a really cool surreal, modern feel that isn’t overdone or annoying.
The acting worked for the genre, even though most of it is terrible and hard to understand. The entire Japanese cast, minus Tarantino, worked because they all spoke English, which just added to the cool-weirdness. I’m sure if your high school English class tried to analyze every figurative detail it would take weeks. Just put it this way: as far as the formula goes, Sukiyaki Western Django is both original and complex to the point of insanity. I simply cannot understand how this is by the same man who wrote/directed Audition.
Overall, I’m going to quote something I heard someone say after they viewed Sukiyaki Western Django: “Well, that was different, but I wouldn’t call it entertaining.” That is the view a lot of people are going to have, and I can’t deny people will think that just because I personally disagree with it. It comes very close to being too top-heavy with aesthetic for its own good, but, for me, it was still very entertaining and awing. I can’t say anything else except that you need to see this and make up your own mind. It is original, that’s not my opinion, and if you’re like me and enjoy more than the typical Hollywood movie you MUST see this. If you can care less about originality and just want another typical western you’ve seen time and time again, don’t bother.
It really matters what your opinion on entertainment is. But I loved it.
9/10
Yech…I hated this.
so i just watched this last night. i thought it was alright and entertaining but not worth buying. a good renter and if your a fan of miike you should check it out. even though i am a fan of miike i didn’t like it as much as his other work.
Welcome To Bizzaro World. This movie was absolutely bizzare. It is a western with asian dude playing both the cowboys and the indians or in this movie the whites and the reds. This movie was a gong show. It was a interesting vision. Its the wild wild west on acid. In the sence that theirs a certain cartoonish tone to the movie. I remember seeing the trailer to this movie and saying this movie is going to be completely bananas and I was not disapointed. You know when you start a movie and it has Quinton Tarintino shooting three dudes and then gutting a freaken snake that you are in for a wild ride. I dont know weather this film counts as a tribute movie, a parody or a reinvertion of the Spegetti Wester genre all I know is that it was inovative. A weird little movie to say the least. I dont expect asian cowboy movies / Sukiyaki Westerns to be the next big thing but it was defenately worth buying. But that is just my opinion. Now if you will excuse me please I’m going to watch Riteous Kill.
Cheesy, but entertaining.
So im usually a fan of Japanese films but this one. Lets see where have I seen this before hmm…Fistfull of Dollars, Yojimbo, Last Man Standing, I mean come on we dont need any more remakes of the amazing Yojimbo. Very weird and dumb movie.
An ode to the spaghetti westerns with an asian flair courtesy of Takashi Miike! You cant go wrong with this one, Tarantino briefly included.
A lukewarm entry from Miike. Despite having it’s moments, Miike’s style just doesn’t gel as well as it should to the western setting, which is to bad cause it could have been great.