MisterWhiplash
In a world where normalcy is the run of the pack in the crime genre, and the usual blood and bullets and violence and ultra machismo is the name of the game, a filmmaker like Takashi Miike has something to show for his conventional stories. Where else will you see CGI cockfights, Brazilian dives and spin-zones in Tokyo, and ping-pong tournaments made into intense death-matches? Well, those are the main highlights at the least in another of Miike's many trips into the 'yakuza' movie, however this time he goes international with his cast (for the most part anyway). It's not just Japanese Yakuza, but also Chinese mafia, the Brazilians, and possibly a black or white guy thrown in for good measure. It's got drug deals, sour romances, youth tarnished by abandonment, talk show hosts also into drugs and self-interest, did I mention the cock-fights (particularly the part where the poultry gets set on fire and run wild), and so on. So Miike has a lot to work with here. It's a shame then that it doesn't feel as spectacular as all of this sounds, or at least as the trailer looked.We're given at the core of the story a romance that's blossomed between Mario (Teah is his only credited name, and has only appeared in a handful of other Miike movies, this his first) and Kei (Michelle Reis, who luckily has a little more experience). Kei is about to be deported (from Brazil I suppose, a point that is never total clarified for me, though besides the point), but then comes Mario to the rescue in a manic helicopter break-out. So now the two need to get going again, this time out of Japan, but they have no passports and no money. Enter in the perfect solution- bad guys! Chinese mafia and Japanese Yakuza, both out to make some dealings with cokes, however with one side definitely not trusting the other (there's a great little dialog the Chinese guy gives in the cave about the Japanese). Then in quasi (though not quite) True Romance fashion, they steal the coke during the deal in a shoot-out, decide to sell it to a self-promoting TV newscaster with the token midget cameraman, and he starts selling it...until the gangsters come back into the picture, especially the extreme bad-ass yakuzas, one of which with a silly Mohawk.From there we get what has come in probably more than I'd care to think of number of crime films, where the little girl/main heroine gets kidnapped, and only the hero can come to the rescue. All the while Miike executes the material, in terms of technical style, in a manner that always kept me watching, even when I should've felt repulsed by this. Then again, I didn't see in this (or in Ichi the Killer either oddly enough) that Miike was glorifying the violence. Sure, it's fast-paced when it comes down to it, like in the climax with the rescuing and such, and Miike decides to build tension with a complete abandon for rational cinematic language (very quick and decisive cuts). But, as the title suggest, pretty much anybody on screen in the picture is part of the 'City' that harbors all these damned beings. Even Mario's ex Lucia (in maybe the best 'performance' by Patricia Monterola) comes out quite tarnished by the end. Somehow, through all of the multiple killings and bouts of violence, it's still somehow exhilarating when it needs to be, and Miike somehow finds room to edge in his classic surreal bits of comedy into the mold (some that doesn't, like the ones involving excretions, and ones that do by leaps and bounds, most notably the main Matrix-style cockfight).The problem ends up being though that a lot of things don't connect. The main actor and actress, for example, don't seem to have much chemistry, at all. Indeed Teah, aside from having a swagger and attitude during action scenes, is stiff as a board, with his love Kei looking a little dulled out (save for one amazing scene involving some vodka and a Russian). It's also a thin line to walk for Miike in making the plight of the little girl that Lucia cares for seriously, as she is blind (ho-ho) literally to what goes around her, yet is bright as the innocent, and aside from one brief, compelling scene with her and her drunk mother, there is little to care about with the situation aside from the usual formulaic tones. There are also spouts early in the film that almost come off half-baked, like with the police officers or whoever they might be. Yet with all of this to point out as flaws, I do make it a point to say that as I go deeper into Miike's oeuvre that it's certainly not his weakest fare. Actually, there's even potential for it to get better on a repeat viewing, as I may not even give a damn to try and work out what's going on. I mean, who needs total logic when you got roosters that dish out Kung-Fu? Grade: B
padiyark
I have been a big fan of Takashi Miike since "Ichi the Killer" and was further solidified by "Audition", so obviously I needed to hunt down every Miike film out there. This movie sounded had an interesting premise (similar to "True Romance"), so figuring it would be Miike-ized, I rented it. After watching it, I didn't feel the same exhilaration that I did out of other Miike films. Apart from an exciting helicopter escape, an interesting cock-fight, and a cool would-be ping pong game, it really didn't hold my attention for long. Teah, who plays the protagonist Mario, makes Keanu Reeves look like a Shakesperean actor, and I could've cared less what happened to him. On the other hand, Michelle Reis did show good potential, but was largely wasted in this film. With the exception of the guy who played the Yakuza upstart, most of the characters are forgettable. Yes, it has the typical Miike weird ending, but it doesn't' strike you as anything special, unlike the endings of "Dead or Alive" or (better yet)"Audition". If you are getting into Miike, stay away from this one.
Infofreak
The extraordinary movies of the astonishingly prolific Takashi Miike take most viewers quite a bit getting used to, so if you've never seen one of his difficult to categorize films before you're in for a wild ride! His best known movie is probably the modern horror classic 'Audition'. An utterly brilliant movie to be sure, but not really all that representative of the rest of his high octane genre-busting output. Many of his fans regard 'Dead Or Alive' as one of his greatest works, and while I certainly agree it is one of the most extraordinary and original movies released in recent years, it was way too uneven for my liking and marred by one of the most ludicrous endings I've ever seen. 'City Of Lost Souls' is a much less bizarre and extreme experience than 'DOA'. It reaches neither the highs of that movie, nor the lows, and therefore is probably as good a place as any to get into Miike's world, which is quite unlike any other let me tell you! The plot itself is a fairly standard lovers on the run thing that we've seen in countless movies before ('Bonnie And Clyde', 'The Getaway', 'Badlands', 'Wild At Heart', 'True Romance',etc.etc.) but with Miike "plot" is basically just an excuse for messing with the audience's mind and expectations. The multi-racial nature of the cast and the seemingly random and sometimes confusing geographic settings help disorientate the viewer, which allows Miike to slip in some memorable set pieces and images. One in particular, the chicken fighting scene, had me literally speechless, and is one of the funniest and most unexpected sequences I've ever seen. But still, unlike 'DOA', Miike never goes too far into sheer silliness, and that makes 'City Of Lost Souls' are much more consistent and enjoyable experience for me. Maybe if I'd watched this movie first then worked my way up to 'DOA' my reaction to the latter would be more positive, who can say? I would definitely recommend Miike novices to watch this one first before they explore his more outrageous movies. Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore Takashi Miike, a film maker who makes overrated fanboy faves like David Fincher and Guy Ritchie look like the slow kids in the back of the class.
