(1997)
REVIEWED BY-STEVE GENIER DIRECTED BY-KAZUYOSHI KUMAKIRI CAST-SUMIKO MIKAMI, SHUNSUKE SAWADA, SHIGERU BONKUDA, TOSHIYUKI SUGIHARA, KENTARO OGISO and TOMOHIRO ZAIZEN. SOURCE- ARTSMAGIC DVD NTSC REGION 1 (2 DISC)(2004)
A small student leftist group is left in the dark as their leader is arrested and has to spend time behind bars. He in turns leaves his girlfriend in charge to convey his wishes with the group. As time passes, the group grows tired of the lack of her leadership and become defiant. Though the full group does not feel this way and they split, well the split being a 80/20 situation. Her methods are questioned as the feeling is the group strays from their leader’s views. Tensions begin to activate violent tendencies, ones that become a dark reality. The group's struggles to comprehend the differences between reality and their erratic thoughts. This all comes to being tested on an unusual battleground and with very odd circumstances.
Now, I seen some pretty graphic films out of Japan and God knows they can make some pretty gory offerings, but KICHIKU takes the cake. This is formulated like Miike’s AUDITION was, a Japanese drama with nice serene camera work, then like a violent tide from an oncoming typhoon, it hits. This thing comes right out of left field, though there is an incredible build up, but for what comes after is totally shocking. Your worst nightmare is being flashed in front of your innocent eyes, infecting every hair follicle with shear madness. KICHIKU is a borderline presentation between beauty and ugliness, trending on swallow water until the last quarter of the film, then the notch is raised to the max. Blood, brains and shear utter goriness take you the viewer to a level not even a roller coaster can reach. It’s a beautiful maiden swaying in a crystal clear pond on a bright hazy warm day, you gaze into her eyes, you feel her draw, you make your move unknowing of what dangers lurk in those eyes and beneath the water. Still, you can’t help yourself, you are drawn in. This is the exact feeling one tends to get while watching this film. Though there are periods of drawn out exhaustion, be patient it all pays off in the end, if you have the stomach that is.
KICHIKU is the result of a film student’s love and pure drive to complete a vision in which many would only fathom of. Still, there are many reason one will not see this as being a student low-budget project. One of those main reason is the beautiful camera work which carries the viewer with each scene. Also, the acting is quite good and in many areas very convincing to the point of realism. Though with its high gore content in the second half of the film, it is all done with style and isn’t sloppy. Very awkward situations are presented to the viewer, strange love or lustful encounters that would literally blow you to pieces. Exploding heads, oozing body appendages and bloody operas dawn this story of traumatic youths heading for a dark ending. All plays out with complete entertaining values, sure that sounds warped, but hey isn’t life warped most of the time.
The new Artsmagic double disc for the North American market is absolutely packed with tons of goodies. The first disc contains the feature itself, presented Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese audio with English subtitles. Incredible sound throughout the film, showing Artsmagic’s great care in bringing this to the shiny format. The visual itself is a little bit of a disappointment, presented in 4:3 full frame. Still the picture is incredibly clean and the colours are quite nice. Disc two is where the fun begins, starting off with an intro from Japanese film expert Tom Mes. A docu on the making of KICHIKU as well as behind the scenes reactions to the film itself. Tons of interviews flood the disc as well, 6 in total beginning with the film’s director, cameraman and four of the film’s lead actors. In closing the disc, there are bios, filmographies and the original trailer. So, if you are a true fan of Japanese cult cinema, this is one disc you can’t pass up!
STORY-3.5 BITCH SLAPS PICTURE-3 BITCH SLAPS AUDIO-4.5 BITCH SLAPS EXTRAS-5 BITCH SLAPS OVERALL-3.5 BITCH SLAPS Get more info on this disc or more Artsmagic DVDS!
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