Izo

Now this is something different. Takashi Miike is known for putting out extreme and unconventional movies but this one even has some of his fans scratching their heads. Admittedly, this was a kind of a hard movie to watch and in a way feels like it doesn't really go anywhere. However, its a really interesting movie with cool and bloody action, some interesting bits of philosophy, and cool but not always related musical interludes from a Japanese folk singer. Its as oddly disconnected as that sounds yet it still works in its own way.

The movie is about the guy the movie is name after "Izo" who was a samurai and assassin who killed a whole lot of people. The movie starts with him getting crucified and basically skewered in the sides with spears in a very graphic way. From there you see his restless soul randomly go from one situation to the next. These situations pretty much all involve Izo killing them. Meanwhile there seems to be an elite group aware of Izo's presence and discussing what to do about him and just what exactly he is. There's also some stock WW2 footage and the before mentioned folk singer who sings usually right after a slaughter of people by Izo. And that's mostly the whole movie. There is a lot of repetition in the movie but that seems to partially be the point. There also isn't any kind of rewarding ending but the journey itself is so different and interesting that its flaws which would normally make any other movie unwatchable are only minor detraction's here.

There are a lot of things that make this movie more likable than a might seem. The dialogue can be very interesting and the way situations play out with Izo and people whom he's encountered in life and now encountering in death usually have some kind of dark humor or show just how cold hearted Izo is. Its usually some variation of Izo screaming at how corrupt authority is or being cold to someone who cared for him but the ways its done makes it interesting. There's also some bits that show how Izo came to be so murderous and you get a feel for how tortured he is. It can also be philosophical with questions of existence, life, death, and the entire movie also seems to be a sort of meditation on violence in general... or I might be reading too much into it. The point is that with how Takashi Miike handled the movie what should been been a dumb, violent, slaughter flick does end up being more. Whether that's good or bad and whether it makes up for the length combined with the repetition could vary depending on the viewer.

Definitely worth a watch if you want something "out there" and a bit philosophical as well as bloody and messed up. Be prepared for a long movie with a fair amount of repetition and no single payoff moment where everything comes together neatly or the main character has a revelation or anything like that. I liked the movie a lot but I could see a lot of people not liking this.