Craziness. That’s what I expect from a Miike film. I’m not sure who has the distribution rights for this one in the U.S., or even if it’s already been picked up, but I hope I get a chance to lay eyes on it soon:
Hey there! Long time reader first time contributer. Just caught Takashi Miike's Sukiyaka Western Django last night at the Toronto Film Festival and went ape shit crazy. Actors from the film were there but alas no Miike. He did however send a video message praising Toronto's audience, and he gave us all his email address to let him know what we think about his new film.
If you end up using this call me under my forum name The3rdMan
Sometimes shit happens and it's fucking amazing.
As today's cinema is becoming more and more polluted with unoriginality and mediocrity it begs for a kick in the ass.
One of the latest trends Hollywood is trying to make a buck off of is the western. We haven't seen a western for damn near fifteen years, and haven't seen a good one for damn near twenty. But, a television series named Deadwood has captured the mind of critics, film buffs, T.V. buffs, couch potatoes and net junkies around. It was a clear call that the western is not dead. So when the movie companies hired Brad Pitt to star in an old school spaghetti entitled The Assassination of Jesse James, other movie companies jumped their guns and started to throw westerns in production as quickly as they could. One made it before Brad Pitts and that's Three Ten To Yuma which opened last week to luke warm reviews. A film so desperately trying to make a buck that it was created for the sole purpose to be the first western out of the gates to call bullshit on anyone else's attempt, a film so desperate it's a remake of an actually pretty good western made in the 60's. Next month sees Brad Pitts western hitting theaters and its a sure bet there's more to follow.
Something really special has happened before we drones, as I'm sure Hollywood likes to take us for, waste all our money on desperate attempts to throw backs to a time when cinema was throwing back to a harsher time. A western has come out of the gates with the other heavyweights with such originality, such style, that it demands to be praised. It comes out at high noon and calls bullshit to all other westerns around it. It isn't trying to photocopy an era of cinema now dead, it's trying to improve it, trying to breath life into it. Trying to tell everyone else around it that this how we do a western in todays day and age.
S.W.D. is the first of it's kind. It's an English speaking Japanese western but, just because they speak English doesn't mean there isn't subtitles. Almost all of the actors are Japanese (except for two if i remember correctly) and their English is slurry and hard to follow at times. It seems strange at first, and overacted but it gives the film a sense of it's own peculiar style. People have been calling this out as just "another Yojimbo remake" and that's half true. This is the same story as Yojimbo or a Fist Full of Dollars, a stranger rolls into town where there are two rival gangs tearing the town apart and he stands in the middle waiting for the higher offer to join which gang. Of course he cares for neither but the welfare of the people in the town. What's different here is that it's a complete marriage between a Japanese samurai western, and an American Spaghetti. In Yojimbo one guy had a gun, everyone else had swords. In this film everyone has guns and one bat shit crazy guy has got a samurai sword. There's all the corsets, whiskey, cigarettes of an American western with all the chopsticks, Sake, and honor of a Japanese samurai flick.
The fashion style in this film alone is enough for it to garner cult status attention. The gangs of the town are split into two. One white, one red. As you can probably guess the white clan dress in white and the red in yellow, i mean red. What exactly they're wearing looks like some sort of Peter Pan's lost boys, gangster rap, eighties dancing obscurity. Every member looks completely unique and fucking awesome. I saw a turtle neck, diamond piercings, Adidas jackets, bunny ears, and wrestling helmets. Our middle man hero is completely Clint, trench coats, guns, cigarettes, booze and a bad ass hat.
Since the film actually has some merit to it, some meat on its bones it should really be celebrated. The story line is basic but its level of emotional demand keeps you guessing. It's well acted in its own unique way. And it never short-changes you, you get what you want at the end. A walk into town at high noon, a good ol' western shootout and it stands up there with the best of them.
So uh, Tarantino? Not going to lie, this is the best acting bit he ever had. He does it such justice and you can tell he's just loving it. He opens the film for us in a really well done scene with what seems like some hilarious overacting until you realize, ah shit this is how epic this fucker is.
I can't express enough how much love I have for this film. I wish I could watch it again right now. Hopefully it'll come out soon. I think North America would definitely eat this baby up with a wide release. Just incredible.
...And with that, we cue the music.
