Takashi Miike

[Weak2ndAct]

No, you haven't seen the best one, just one of many best ones.  See above for recommendations.

And no, not every movie is a surreal, over-the-top shockfest.  Sometimes he delves into different types of genres (crowd pleasing comedy, magical realism, drama), though he has made an alarming number of Yakuza pictures.  I'm not going to tell you that every movie is perfect or a masterpiece, but I find an enthusiam in his work that is undeniably charming and fascinating.  This guy will try anything, whether it's gutsy/ambitious filmmaking or unforgettable shocks.

[classical gas]

like i said, it has been a while since i've seen that film and it completely blew my mind (i think i made a thread about it)...and i'm always looking for new directors to obsess over.  i haven't skipped over the other posts, so i'll definitely see if i can find his other films, though it'll probably be difficult.  maybe i'll blind buy one; i haven't done that in a while, and it's always exciting.

edit: found the thread i made on it and i come off as an.....idiot, maybe....it was during my heavy drinking days, but W2ndA did reply to it.

[Weak2ndAct]

Just watched Ichi The Killer: Episode Zero, the animated flick.  It clocks in at a scant 45 minutes (I swear 7 of those were the end credits) and the animation is pretty cheap looking.  HOWEVER, if you are a huge fan of Miike's film (like me), you might enjoy it for the fact that the short does give Ichi's origin story-- an interesting slow burn.  Also, amusingly enough, Miike himself provides an audio cameo as the voice of Kakahira in the opening.  So in short: worth a rental if you're a fanatic, the purchase price is a little steep considering the length.

[Brazoliange]

Working on seeing more of these... the Uncut DVD of Ichi is amazing, definitely check it out... and Audition is pretty fun if you're a bit patient hehe. I have Visitor Q but haven't had a chance to check it out quite yet, and just rented Dead or Alive.

oh man though, how can you now love Ichi?

[MacGuffin]

On Takashi Miike’s first press tour in the United States I was lucky enough to meet up with him at the Mayflower Hotel in Manhattan. Miike is very much as I pictured him. He is a small wiry man with wild multicolored hair who smokes a lot of cigarettes.

Most people know Miike as the mad Japanese filmmaker who makes confusing, frenetic and violent films such as Ichi the Killer and Audition. His latest, Gozu, is no different. The plot involves a gangster who goes insane, gets himself killed and then his body disappears. Now his brother, Minami, must find him while avoiding the man with a cow head who licks him and the hotel owner who sells her breast milk by the bottle. Gozu is being released July 16th into theaters.

Please be aware that Miike speaks little English and this interview was conducted with the help of a translator.

Daniel Robert Epstein: You do so many projects. How did you decide to do Gozu?

Takashi Miike: It started with an idea from the executive producer of Gozu named Harumi Sone. He’s an old man who used to be a very popular actor in Japan but he recently hasn’t done well as an actor. Most of his roles he gets are old men in the Yakuza who get killed.

He decided to produce a movie so that he could act in it. He ended up having his son, Hideki Sone, play the main role. That’s the power of him convincing me to make Gozu.

DRE: You're not credited with writing many of your films. How easy is it to take a script and turn it into a distinctive Miike movie?

TM: I work with people that don’t control me. The kinds of people that approach me, give me the freedom. It’s lucky that I get that situation all the time so I can be me in any film I make. But at the same time as a director I have to see what images I get just from reading the script and it all passes through my mind. That is why every movie looks like my movie.

DRE: What film of yours would you compare Gozu to?

TM: In a way, Visitor Q [released in 2001] and Gozu are very similar. Both my budgets on those films were so low but that gave me so much freedom.

DRE: In the press notes for Gozu you call yourself crazy. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist?

TM: [laughs] I go to the dentist not a shrink.

DRE: Your films don’t make a lot of money in the United States but the people that do know of them are usually obsessed with them. Have you met any of those American fans?

TM: When I made certain films for straight to video I never thought that international film festivals would take the work. When I went to film festivals in foreign countries I was so happy that my movies got to be seen internationally. I myself enjoyed watching my own work with a large audience that appreciated it more than I expected.

DRE: Your films often seem like actual nightmares and very human at the same time. Is it difficult to balance that?

TM: I don’t try to keep things balanced. That is the way I am and since this work comes from me, it ends up like that. I never intentionally try to do anything but that is the way I see the story.

DRE: Do you understand your own films?

TM: I understand what is going on in them. I believe that even when the actors are killing themselves onscreen that hope can be wrested from the film. I tried to leave images of hope in Gozu so the audience can understand.

DRE: I believe much of what comes from Japanese art is due to the end of World War 2 when the atomic bombs were dropped. Do you believe your work can be traced back to that?

TM: It’s very natural that I got influenced from that post World War 2 culture because that’s where I was born. I think you are right about that influence.

DRE: Many people on SuicideGirls are fans of Ichi the Killer. What was your inspiration for that movie?

TM: It came from a manga. But I believe that Ichi the Killer came out perfectly because of the people I worked with. It came out really well and I’m very happy with it.

DRE: What made you want to adapt a manga?

TM: When you do something like that, it can be a big box office hit. Also it was a challenge.

DRE: I discovered Shinya Tsukamoto’s work a long time ago and you collaborated on Ichi the Killer. Will you work together again?

TM: I am fond of Tsukamoto’s work. Many people say that my work and Tsukamoto’s have similarities but I don’t think that is true. It’s a different style of filmmaking. But I like to work with Tsukamoto as an actor and I’m sure we will again.

DRE: Gozu is definitely disturbing and many people vomited in the theater while watching Audition. Is that a reaction you relish?

TM: People that say that both Gozu and Audition have a crazy last sequence. But in a way they are different. In Audition nothing happens for the first 60 minutes, which was intentional because I wanted to bore audiences. It goes very slow and there is no story. I intentionally speeded up the story for the last half hour.

For Gozu the craziness is only the last 15 minutes. People wondered what was going on and why the main character was doing what he was doing. But when you see the man struggling to come out of the woman’s vagina the audience becomes of part of the birth. You feel happy when he finally comes out so the audience is on the woman’s side.

DRE: What are your favorite English speaking filmmakers?

TM: David Lynch, but who fascinates me the most is Paul Verhoeven. No modern director can make a movie like Starship Troopers.

DRE: What about David Cronenberg?

TM: I like Cronenberg.

DRE: Do you have any tattoos?

TM: Yes, how did you know?

DRE: [laughs] Where are they?

TM: It’s two scorpions, one on each of my shoulders.

DRE: What were you like as a teenager?

TM: I was just a regular kid who went to see cartoons. I also used to go outside to capture frogs and then throw them away. I played with a lot of fireworks as well.

DRE: Even though English is not your first language, have you thought about making a film in America?

TM: Maybe in the future if I get the opportunity here I would because it would really be interesting. It would be a good chance to stretch and see if I could make a film in a place where I don’t really belong.

DRE: How are you able to make so many films?

TM: The movies I am offered I have no reason to say no to. I was busier when I was an assistant director. In Japan the director’s fee isn’t very high so I always wondered how American directors make a living with the amount of films they do. For me, it’s very natural to make that many movies.

[Brazoliange]

Gozu was out on DVD last weekend, I got my copy at Best Buy

[modage]

its been out on dvd since atleast christmastime when i picked up a copy at best buy and stared at it for a while.

edit: yep, November 23, 2004

[Ghostboy]

I saw Izoat the Philly Film Fest this weekend. If it wasn't forty minutes too long, it would have been a masterpiece - as it is, it's an awesome ninety minute movie with forty extra minutes of ultraviolence that get a bit redundant.

[Two Lane Blacktop]

Has anybody seen One Missed Call yet?  This review makes it sound intriguing, and since I've never seen any of his films (but am curious to), I think it'd be fun to see the first one in the theater, as opposed to on a TV set.

That is, assuming it plays here for more than two days, so I can actually get to the the theater to see it.

Any reviews of the movie (esp. from Miike fans) would be appreciated.

2LB

[Weak2ndAct]

I finally got to see 'One Missed Call,' and my thoughts definitely echo the variety review I posted above.  Considering the story and rehashing of soooo many elements (I mean seriously, it's Ringu, but with cell phones), there is absolutely no reason why this movie should be any good.  This movie is a blatant Ringu/Phone/Grudge/Dark Water wannabe in every respect-- and it smashingly works.  Consider me shocked.  Each act takes it's own spin: 1st is very Final Destination, you see the young picked off one by one.  Act 2 is the tv-show segment, which is a definite highlight (Miike dropped the ball in one respect, what happens on the show should have caused mass hysteria, but I digress).  Act 3 is the mystery/confrontation of the ghost/cause and here he really pulls out all the stops.  Every trick in the book comes out, and the movie just does not let up.  Tons of scares, tons of surprises-- totally bonkos.  And despite my reservations about the whole cell-phone angle (how can a Nokia be scary, exactly?), surprise surprise, Miike finds a way...

[Two Lane Blacktop]

This movie is a blatant Ringu/Phone/Grudge/Dark Water wannabe in every respect-- and it smashingly works.

Now see, that's what the AV Club review made me think as well (sorry I missed your earlier post).  I am definitely going to make an effort to see this when it reaches Atlanta.

2LB

[Brazoliange]

Not sure if this is of any relevance, really, but I found This at Borders today and got it in the 3-for-4 sale they're having along with The Happiness of the Katakuris and 2 others that aren't Miike. Anyone know if it's indeed "Special Limited Edition Collector's Set"?

All the reviews of the 3 films look great, a real change from his usually intense style to focus more on characters and emotions (not that he hasn't before, but,).

--God I hope Omaha, Lincoln, or Des Moines gets One Missed Call

[modage]

i just watched Gozu.  i should've stuck with your recommendations weak2ndact, cause i didn't like this at all.  though in retrospect, i think i really liked audition and will buy it at some point.  also: the transfer looked like SHIT.  the movie is 2 years old!  it looks like it is 30 years old!  what the fuck?

[Weak2ndAct]

Huh, maybe I'm the wrong guy to ask-- I like Gozu.  Though the ones I did recommend are the most universally well-liked.

I'm going to watch MPD Psycho 1&2 soon, will report back on that.

[Figure 8]

Has anyone seen any of the other Dead or Alive movies besides the first one?  I liked the first one, but haven't even heard anything at all about the other two.