“First Love” Theatrical Poster
Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Masaru Nakamura
Cast: Masataka Kubota, Sakurako Konishi, Nao Omori, Shota Sometani, Seiyo Uchino, Becky, Jun Murakami, Sansei Shiomi, Takahiro Miura, Maimi Yajima
Running Time: 115 min.
By Martin Sandison
It’s pretty difficult to be an Asian movie fan in the last 25 years, and not love at least one Takashi Miike film. An omnipresence in challenging, genre-shifting vital cinema, the director is irrepressible and much-loved. Even a more recent effort such as the manga adaptation Blade of the Immortal, which polarized opinion, I absolutely adore. Mainly due to its constant OTT action (that I have arguments with two friends over, as I prefer it to the Rurouni Kenshin trilogies intricate but non-impactful choreography) and wry, witty tone. Miike is a genre unto himself, and his new film First Love seems to be at first a return to the style of such classics as Dead or Alive; as things progress of course he takes a left turn and proves yet again to be one of the most visionary directors making films today.
Boxer Reo (Masataka Kubota, Tokyo Ghoul) is down on his luck, with serious health problems. By chance he saves a girl Monica (Sakurako Konishi) from being pursued by Yakuza and they go on the run. Gangster Kase (Shota Sometani, Samurai Marathon) hatches an elaborate plot to double cross his gang, involving a corrupt policeman. There are numerous other subplots and many characters, whose fate will be inexorably linked.
The first 45 minutes of First Love, to be honest, didn’t grab me so much. The muted colours, unexciting aesthetic and complicated plot had me wondering why the film has garnered high praise. As soon as the two lovers began their flight, I was absolutely hooked. One can again rely on Miike to turn a film on its head, and be completely unpredictable. The entire mid-section, to closing in on the end of the film, is one of the most insane action set pieces I’ve seen in recent years, and ranks high in Miike’s best cinematic achievements. Miike throws every conceivable Japanese action style together, with adrenalin pumping so hard it’s like you’ve taken a hit of adrenachrome via Fear and Loathing.
As the opening gunfight/carchase kicks in to crazed gear Kase, having rubbed cocaine in to a bullet wound, exclaims: ‘‘this is fucking wild!’ Within the context of almost all Miike movies, this is the understatement of the century, and may seem a little knowingly self-referential. Here, the placement of it and crazed look on Sometani’s face as he spins around in the car means you can’t help but laugh and love the crazy beauty of Miike’s cinematic ride. As the sequence hots up, an unnamed Yakuza is introduced in a ridiculously cool way: blasting a cop with a shotgun in one hand, dressed like Kyle Reese from Terminator, with an arm missing. Oh yes, Miike. Kyle Reese and the One-Armed Swordsman, now that’s a character combination. The showdown between this character and Gondo (Seiyo Uchino, 13 Assassins) is one of the best action match-ups I’ve seen in recent years. Moving from gunplay to swordplay to open hand, it’s a maelstrom that doesn’t let up. In there I noticed shots and moves that look very much like the end gun battle between Lam Ching Ying and Tung Wai in Pom Pom and Hot Hot; one of the greatest of its kind ever conceived, despite the overall film being a lame comedy. If it’s conscious or unconscious from Miike, I love it. Interestingly the way the combat action is shot reflects a very modern approach in style; the camera is at a mid height most of the time, very close in, conveying the chaos of blows. There is no intricacy here, more a heightened sense of realism, in stark contrast to some of Miike’s work in films such as the magnificent 13 Assassins, and to the other styles of action and the tone of First Love.
The two lovebirds have nice character arcs, in actually a pretty standard way, especially for a Miike film. Reo grows from withdrawn and sullen, to finding meaning thanks to his experience and growing affection for Monica. This is encapsulated in his non-celebration after winning the boxing match at the start of the film to exploding with emotion when he wins another at the end. Monica begins the movie dealing with psychosis as she hallucinates seeing her abusive dead father; she learns to face her fear by the end. As Gondo Uchino is like a latter-day Ken Takakura in his old Yakuza flicks, with a stoic machismo that explodes in to violence. Actress Becky as Julie kicks some serious ass in her fights, and brings a welcome Miike-like hysterical insanity to her role.
My three favourite Miike films are Rainy Dog, Audition and 13 Assassins. The difference in style, tone and approach to all three show how fantastic a film-maker he is, one who makes genre shape-shifting an art form. At the vanguard of Japanese cinema for the last 20 plus years, the cinematic landscape would be arguably very different without his output. His efforts prove as a filmmaker he can be as comfortable making extreme, dream-like horror or traditional, aesthetically reverential and informed Samurai cinema. First Love fits firmly in a style we have seen him in before, but here you can sense how much fun Miike has making movies; this energy spills off the screen, and is so infectious you wish to the stars to be on set with him. Miike’s cinematic technique has always drawn attention to itself; it’s like you can hear him whisper: ‘it’s a movie. Let’s have some fun!’
Signature Entertainment is releasing the film in the UK on February 14, 2020. US fans can obtain a copy from Well Go USA on February 11, 2020.
Martin Sandison’s Rating: 8/10
Thanks for this thoughtful and in depth review. I like how you covered a brief history of Miike leading up to his current output, and why he is so important a filmmaker not to Japan but to cult asian and action/crime cinema.
I went to watch a screening of this film when it was briefly in my city’s theaters. Aside from one other guy behind me I was the only person at the screening. Sad, but somehow it felt right. Miike, as niche as ever.
(the one armed gangster is a chinese triad, if i remember correctly, named Wang, as an homage to Wang Yu’s one armed swordsman)
I’d definitely rank this lower than Martin, probably a 5 or 6/10. Having gotten into Japanese cinema through Miike Takashi’s 1999 flick ‘Audition’, there always feels a sense of obligation to enjoy his movies, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark.
Apart from the cheap digital look, pushed on us after teasing the vintage Toei logo, it almost felt like some parts weren’t helmed by Miike, or he’d lost interest (I wonder if one day we’ll look back at the digital era the same way we now look back at the DTV era, where the graininess which was probably seen as a cheap look at the time is now appreciated). I enjoyed the plot about the yakuza who ends up killing one of his own to try and sell off the drugs with a corrupt cop, and feel ‘First Love’ would have been much more entertaining (and definitely leaner – although bloated run times have always been a Miike trademark) if it’d cut out the boxer and prostitute all together. Sure, the title refers to them, but I mean they’re not even featured prominently on the poster!
Miike’s typically black sense of humour sometimes shines though, and when it does it always has the desired effect (the part where one of the enforcers who saw everything has to stifle a laugh, as the yakuza who’s just killed one of his own attempts to act surprised when his victim is found, was hilarious), but long stretches feel rather pedestrian in their execution, and the relationship at its core never really resonates.
All in all ‘First Love’ is closer to ‘Shield of Straw’ than ‘City of Lost Souls’, and that’s not a compliment.
PS I lived in Japan from ’08 to ’11, and was used to seeing the half Japanese half British actress Becky in cutesy dramas and TV commercials for the airline Jetstar (like this one). I almost didn’t recognize her here as the psycho girlfriend, so kudos to her for clocking in such an against type performance!