A Tarantino Style Comedic Crime Thriller Samehada is on the run from the Yakuza. He apparently stole 100 million yen from them and has no intention of giving it back willingly. While taking a brief time out to have his way with two women, they catch up with him. He winds up fleeing the scene wearing practically nothing. Meanwhile, there's Toshiko, who works at a hotel with a really creepy boss that has the hots for her. She decides to run away. She doesn't get far though as she sees a half naked man run past her on the road...only to crash into the two men who were chasing him. Toshiko decides to stick with Samehada since she "never wants to go back to that place." In comes Yamada, a gay hitman who's hired by Toshiko's boss to kill "her new man" and bring her back to him so he can have his way with her. Who will walk away with the money and who will be left standing by the time this is all over?
First of all, it is really hard to describe this movie in any way. There's so much going on and so many characters to keep track of that it's hard to decide just where to start. For a foreign film that's labeled as being incredibly violent, it's really not all that bad. There's some blood, but it's pretty tame compared to some of the other films I've seen lately. It has its moments where blood will be splattered on the wall, but you won't be seeing any decapitations or people's guts spilling onto the floor.
One of Shark Skin Man's strengths, that could also be viewed as one of its weaknesses, is its cast of characters. There are so many and each one seems to have his or her own personality and brings their own quirks and mannerisms to the table. There isn't one character that reminds you of another one in the film. They're all original and stand out on their own. Its weakness is that since there are so many characters that a lot of them get so little screen time. Samehada, Toshiko, her boss at the hotel(who is also apparently her uncle...ew), and Yamada all get plenty of screen time but some of the yakuza seem to kind of get on screen, do their thing, and then don't do much else the rest of the time. There are so many yakuza to keep track of and so few that you'll actually remember once the credits roll. Tanuki pretty much gets the most screen time out of all the yakuz. He's pretty much a bad @$$ with knives who likes to collect enamel poster ads. Mitsuru wears all white, is insane, has that awesome zippo he's always twirling around, and apparently has an amazing sense of smell and other tracking senses. Not a whole lot is revealed about Sawada. He says he keeps having visions where he talks to God and he used to be friends with Samehada. Inuzaka is a handicapped guy who's always carrying a bat. The beating he gives Samehada will be reverberating through your mind long after the film is over. The rest of them don't really do anything worth remembering or do something brief and wind up being killed off. Yamada is definitely the stand out character of the movie. He starts off being really annoying, but as he slowly reveals that he's more talented than he first lets on and winds up being a good portion of the movie's comedic relief...you wind up liking him the more he's on screen.
The film also has quite a good soundtrack that fits the film incredibly well. It reminds me of the Trigun soundtrack, which was really just rock music with a lot of awesome guitar work. The way it was shot is also kind of interesting. Depending on your taste in movies, it'll either make you love it or hate it. The movie is based on a manga with the same name, so I guess the director was going for a more comic style with directing and shooting the film. It really shows. I'm one of the people who love it and think it suits the film really well. It also has Tarantino elements in it as it jumps around in time a bit and the dialogue seems very Tarantino influenced at times.
Something I have to mention is that I think I'm convinced that any film Tadanobu Asano is involved with can do no wrong. He was amazing as Kakihara in Ichi the Killer and he fits the Samehada role incredibly well. He's officially made me a fan of his and I've gotten to the point where I'll see any film he's in.
So, all in all, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl is a quirky crime/thriller/comedy that any Tarantino fan should give a chance. The film looks amazing as the colors are incredibly vivid and the scenery is just beautiful. The cast is what makes the film as each one brings something different to the film. It's really just an oddball kind of film you should see for yourself.
Rating: 9/10
Comic book perfection "Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl" is a manga/comic book adaptation that hits the ground running, and well.....just keeps on running. In fact, the hero (S S Man) and the heroine (P H Girl) are literally running from the yakuza and terrible/tedious job w/ perverted, personal life encroaching manager, respectively. This film is filled to the brim with action, hilarious dialogue, and characters straight out of comic book land. Not since "Sin City", has there ever been so many comic book-perfect characters portrayed without spandex and special effects. Just attitude and some of the hippest dialogue to grace the Japanese silver screen. Be that as it may, if you do not appreciate the sometimes anti-climactic nature of Japanese media/culture/humour this may not be your cup-o-tea. There is a definite Japanese pacing to the film, which may turn off some of the red-blooded Americans looking for guns, girls, guts, and nothing else. While this film does definitely deliver with the guns, girls, and guts, it offers so much more in its character development and dialogue. An example of this, is one of the early scenes in the film, which simply contains a small group of yakuza, sitting in a car at night, in an empty parking lot, discussing their early home life and fathers. Just through the dialogue, you can see how these men arrived where they are in life, without ever really seeing it. You can really understand who these men are, even though all you are really seeing is a couple of guys sitting in a car.
If you are a fan of, or have ever seen/read, any anime/manga, then you will feel right at home with this film. If you are a fan of Japanese yakuza/crime films, or just gangster/chase films in general, you will love this film. Pick it up, it's a personal favorite. Oh, and as a personal vendetta, if you are one of the many Tarantino-teeny-boppers, who think that the man invented film, and any movie with gangsters, guns, and witty dialogue is a direct copy of "Pulp Fiction", grow up, intellectually that is. I love Tarantino's work, all of it, but....while the man is very talented, if you just go back through the many jewels from the annals of film, that aren't spoon fed to you by immediate/recent pop culture and the culturally-dead, blue-light special of TV brainwashing, you might realize Tarantino has borrowed/stolen almost every single element of ANY of his movies. Call it homage if you will, and most any artistic creation IS derived from past creations and experiences, but EXPLORE, please, before you begin comparing everything ever made to "Pulp Fiction". You may find a few diamonds in the rough, that might shine even brighter than anything you have yet to see.
A Quirky Romantic Yakuza Film: Comic Elements Backfire "Shark Skin Man And Peach Hip Girl," [wow what a title} by Director Katsuhito Ishii is a below average, to average film at best. I remember watching this film years ago and not particularly thinking it was all that great. Upon my latest viewing, it has not aged very well. Also, I do realize that the film itself is based on the comic series by Minetaro Mochizuki, and therefore is not supposed to be taken too seriously. And as you watch the film, you can see that many of these comic elements are thrown into the films narrative. But I just didn't think they were all that great. And while I have heard the argument that "you just don't get it" I do get it. I have seen several Japanese films where comedy is thrown into the film, both serious and slapstick, and some of these have left me laughing quite hard. This one just doesn't cut it for me. This film reminds me a lot of the Japanese film "Adrenaline Drive." And while "Adrenaline Drive" is a much less complicated film and a lot more tame, I found it a more enjoyable watch. The narratives are alike to some degree. And while the yakuza in that particular film had me laughing, the ones in this film did not.
I really admire the work by actor Tadanobu Asano. I believe that he is a really great actor, and he has made some excellent films. Also, I look forward to his future work, because the man does have some talent. The films narrative opens up with a meek young woman named Toshiko (Sie Kohinata) who while checking her savings account at the bank discovers her money is gone. Calling up her uncle, who manages a hotel, she discovers that he has invested the money for her. The uncle, Sonezaki (Youhachi Shimada) is a domineering jerk, and has used all the money she has managed to save away. Upset, this causes her to leave her life behind and go elsewhere. Meanwhile, a lower echelon yakuza named Samehada (Tadanobu Asano) has stolen money from the mob boss he works for. While Samehada is at an isolated cabin with a woman, the yakuza boss and his men have tracked him down. It is here where the two main characters will intersect. Plus, it is here where the viewer will meet a very odd assortment of yakuza, complete with color-coordinated guns.
While Samehada is running half naked through the hilly woods to escape the yakuza who are after him, he causes an accident, whereby Toshiko's car rams into the yakuza bosses car and his entourage of assassins. It is here where the viewer will be introduced to a wide variety of eccentric characters. A wide variety who are after Samehada [Shark Skin Man], and another one after Toshiko [Peach Hip Girl]. The film itself runs the gamut from a very odd assortment of characters which one would find in a manga. There is one particular individual in the film who is a standout among the others, and that is the amateur hit man that the uncle sends to bring back his niece. A film on his character alone could have been done. But the rest of the film, including the yakuza dialogue fell flat to me, and I found the film disappointing. So with all the different characters in this offbeat film, why didn't it succeed? Maybe because there were too many characters? No. For me, I think the film was a yakuza film brought to life from a manga, and as such, maybe the characters were too quirky? Or maybe it just wasn't that good of a film? Some will like this offbeat film. However, I do recommend caution before you buy it. Rent it first. [Stars: 2.5]
Tarentino-esque fun. Okay, I admit this has a lot of elements similar to Pulp Fiction (quirky, disturbed hitmen, a non-linear ending where a character is brought back to life, incidental scenes of thugs talking about funny random things, etc.), but a lot of it works (when the gay hitman and the Tadanobu Asano character meet in the bathroom, it's borderline genius comedy). Unfortunately, the pieces don't come together in any satisfying way at the end. Check out the very different but much superior Cha no Aji (The Taste of Tea) for a better outing from this director (also featuring Asano).
Oh how this movie rocks! The movie opens as a young worker Toshiko (played wonderfully by Shie Kohinata) is being urged by a coworker to follow his example and finally quit her job at the stale, low-rent hotel managed by Toshiko's uncle Sonezaki. When Toshiko finds out that her uncle has "invested" all the money in her savings into the hotel, she decides that this is the breaking point. Samehada (Tadanobu Asano; Ichi The Killer) has stolen some serious cash from his former yakuza bosses and, after being tracked to a woodland cabin, (where he's sequestered himself with some sexy "hired help") he's forced to flee the scene in little more than his tighty-whiteys to save from being caught. Cut to Toshiko fleeing the hotel life. Who should she come across? Yep, Samehada, sprinting into the winding, mountain road and causing Toshiko to collide with the yakuza cruiser giving chase.
SSM&PHG has wit and style to spare. It also sports one of the most unique gang of characters I have ever witnessed. From the quirky, salary-man type yakuza boss who collects rare soft drink tins, to his spoiled, style conscious, ingrate of a son who uses his nose like a dog, is afraid to get wet and is draped in bullet-proof white leather. A 3-some of hapless yakuza wanna-be hangers-on that have zero cred, to a homosexual assassin hired to retrieve Sonezaki's niece. Add in the remaining cast of ill-mannered yakuza associates and how could you go wrong? I'll answer that; you can't.
O.K., I could see how some may say SSM&PHG might lack the action required for a decent yakuza tale. I can say with complete confidence that you will not be bored watching this movie. The humor alone carries SSM&PHG high above the waterline. Katsuhito Ishii's direction is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, in regards to the short segments of confined dialogue between small groups of characters. The banter seemingly has little to do with the overall story at the moment, and acts like a reprieve (or maybe more precisely, Ishii's way of character development) from the superficial plot. He also employs well placed, short bursts of time-lapse editing during a hilarious chase scene near the beginning and again later, as the group convenes at Sonezaki's hotel. It's not all humor and jocularity full-time though. Again, like QT's Pulp Fiction, there are moments of introspection from the characters, but the movie never allows itself to get weighed down in the morality of what's happening. It retains it's light-hearted and irreverent feel from start to finish. Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl is quite the hidden gem that manga fans may already be somewhat acquainted with, but something that comedy lovers should track down for sure.
Anything Goes Trivia
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