ICHI THE KILLER

Rating: 8/10

 

Visitors: 275

Summary: Love really hurts.

Ichi the Killer, is hands down the number one hardest film for me to sit through.... so far. The acting is so good, characters so charismatic, that you are compelled to keep watching.

The story is about 2 characters, one a member of the mafia, the other a man without direction. Tadanobu Asano, singer in the Japanese band Mach 1.67 and described as a cross between Johnny Depp and Toshirô Mifune, is Kakihara, who after being expelled from the Yazuka gang for his methods, which are altogether too brutal for them, takes over the Anjo gang. Kakihara is a sado masochist, who lives his life with a sort of destined death wish.. looking for the one who will be worthy to kill him in the end.

Ichi is in love with a local prostitute, but she belongs to the Yazuka boss, who beats her, rapes her.. so Ichi kills the head Yazuka boss for the girl he loves, but he accidentally kills her too. He has never quite gotten over his childhood best friend who was raped in front of him, and he was too afraid to help her.

The story is very graphic and very dark, but has a very interesting message, and the directing, music, and acting are all surprisingly so good, that they actually get the message across flawlessly even though you might have to turn the movie off every 20 minutes just to catch your breath!

So, Kakihara teaches his new girlfriend on the humane treatment of masochists, and when he tells her to come at him as if to kill him - she although worn out after beating on him for so long, takes fist to his face one more time... and he simply says - "That's enough, you're not the one," and walks away. Talk about a different first (and last) date.

Kakihara is cold, calculating, fearless, and crazy. A sado masochist with delusions of grandeur and a love so misguided it's more of a deathwish then anything else.

Ichi is emotionally stunted, psychotic, and sad, garbed in a black superhero costume, or uniform of some type, and out for revenge.. Together, they make one hell of a pair in ICHI THE KILLER.

I have not seen a lot of asian extreme films, they're honestly a bit much for me - Ichi had a very charismatic cast which compels you to watch through to the end.

Trivia: When Kakihara's cell phone rings, the ringtone is the movie's theme song.