Director Hirokazu Koreeda has gone from strength to strength in the last ten years, with a strong following thanks to films such as Still Walking and Our Little Sister. His most recent, The Third Murder, swept the Japanese Academy Prize last week taking awards for best picture, director, supporting actor, supporting actress and screenplay – so the film comes with a great pedigree. I have to warn you, I’m not a big fan of this director. I have only seen Still Walking and now The Third Murder, however. My favourite aspect of film is visual style, and Koreeda’s style is pretty bland, with The Third Murder being no exception. It’s a shame, because there are some great elements to this movie, especially with regard to acting and approach to character.
Misumi (Koji Yakusho, 13 Assassins) is a factory worker who is in the dock for murdering his boss. His defence team, led by Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno) goes to work to prepare their case. Soon the team begin to think something is up, as Misumi wants to change his plea from guilty to innocent in the middle of the case. Shigemori interviews the boss’s daughter Sakie (Suzu Hirose, Rage) and his wife Yamanaka Mitsue (Yuki Saito, Yo-Yo Girl Cop), and tangles of ambiguity occur.
All of the main characters have so many layers, and are depicted so wonderfully, that as the film progressed I was very gripped, despite the issues I had with the style. Koreeda obviously has a way to handle narrative and character that is very fresh. The second half becomes pretty surreal, as the viewer is not force fed what the truth of the case is, and only some little visual pointers create a coherent thread. This could easily become frustrating; but the way it is presented and the strength of the characters and actors create a powerful feeling and mean the viewer must make up their own mind.
Among many strong performances, Yakusho stands out as Misumi. The scenes between him and Fukuyama which occur throughout the film are a masterclass of sensitive acting, with a spiritual power on the part of Yakusho that carries the film through to its conclusion. Fukuyama has the meatiest part, and does well in conveying the increasingly morally and spiritually mixed up lawyer. Another revelation is Hirose as Sakie; she plays it with just the right note of ambiguity, and at such a young age is one to watch out for.
The most often-mentioned influence on Koreeda is the master of traditional Japanese filmmaking, Yaujiro Ozu. The pacing and character design are certainly redolent, as are the realist style with natural lighting. The Third Murder represents a bit of a departure in some aspects, with my other reference point to Koreeda, Still Walking, much more Ozu-Like. In some ways the movie reminded me of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s recent Creepy, with a similar plot line. That film’s aesthetic is much more up my street, with an expressionistic style that compliments the sinister goings on.
The first half of The Third Murder (apart from the opening scene, which is superbly shot) is a little plodding and uninspired visually, but after the fact it becomes much more interesting. The motif of a cross is used in an unusually brilliant way, one that makes the viewer question the real direction of the narrative, and serves as a reminder that reality is not always what one perceives it as. A flawed but at times brilliant work.
Okay, this is definitely the strangest news to come out of the Filmart 2018 event. Apparently, a sequel to Jet Li’s 1982 debut film, The Shaolin Temple, is in-the-works.
As Hong Kong film historian Ricky Baker (of Eastern Heroes) says: “It’s official. The Shaolin Temple sequel NOT starring Jet Li,” followed by a shot of the film’s preliminary poster, which features what appears to be shadowy figure of Li. In other words, don’t get your hopes up if you’re expecting Jet Li (but then again, anything is possible, right?).
Directed by Chang Hsin Yen, the original film made Li a star and was responsible for the resurgence of Shaolin-based kung fu movies. The film spawned two unrelated sequels, as well as a loose remake in 2001 starring Andy Lau. In 2014, an English-language remake was announced from director Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond), but never materialized.
We’ll keep you updated on The Shaolin Temple 2 as more news arrives.
If you’ve seen the Battle Royale and Hunger Games movies, and you still can’t get enough of teenagers killing one another, then look no further than As the Gods Will(aka As God Says).
In the film, high school student Shun Takahata is bored. Bored with the day-to-day monotony of school and life, he prays for change, for something exciting. The last thing he expects is for the gods to answer. Suddenly, he and his classmates are forced to play deadly children’s games and facing terrifying creatures from a talking Daruma doll to a sharp-clawed lucky cat. Who will survive the gods’ games?
As the Gods Will is based on a serialized Japanese comic book written by Muneyuki Kanshiro and illustrated by Akeji Fujimura. The film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki (Big Man Japan), Mio Yuki (Assassination Classroom), Sota Fukushi (Library Wars), Hirona Yamazaki (Mars), Shota Sometani (Tokyo Tribe), Nao Omori (Outrage Coda) and Lily Franky (Double Life).
This summer will see the release of the fantasy-adventure Asura (not to be confused with the Korean crime film), the directorial debut of noted stunt coordinator Peng Zhang (The Wrath of Vajra, Kick-Ass). The big budget film is said to be the first in a trilogy to be released at a later date.
The story is set in Asura, the dimension of pure desire according to ancient Buddhist mythology. The mythical realm is threatened by a coup from a lower heavenly kingdom and the story follows from there.
Asura is known having a high-profile backing from a list of international talent: It’s written by Zhenjian Yang (Painted Skin: The Resurrection); features costume designs by Oscar winner Ngila Dickson (The Lord of the Rings); Martín Hernandez (The Revenant) serves as the audio director; and Charlie Iturriaga (Deadpool) is handling the film’s visual effects.
On May 1st, 2018, Kino Lorber will be releasing a 4K restoration Blu-ray of Legend of the Mountain, a 1979 wuxia thriller directed by King Hu (Come Drink with Me, A Touch of Zen).
In the film, a travelling scholar, intent on translating a Buddhist sutra, loses his way in the mountains. Time and space collapse around him as he continues his journey, encountering ghostly visitations amid a haunting fantasia of color, light and landscape.
Liam O’Donnell’s Beyond Skyline, the sequel to the Brothers Strause’ panned sci-fi flick Skyline, wasn’t supposed to be a good movie, but somehow, it ended up being good. We can only speculate if the film’s modest success was because of the buzz surrounding the addition of Indonesian martial arts stars (Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian) from The Raid and The Raid 2 –or if O’Donnell simply knows how to deliver the goods as a filmmaker.
Whatever the case, while filming Beyond Skyline, O’Donnell fell in love with everything about Indonesia, and now, he’s getting ready to tackle The Last Savage, which he describes as “a cinematic love letter to the pulp adventures of Tarzan, the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max, and the vicious beauty of the martial art Silat”.
In The Last Savage, a large-scale and violent event in the natural world leaves a boy stranded on a remote island where he’s raised by tigers. When hunters kill his adopted family, he is forced to fight in a deadly new arena.
The film is currently in development, but we expect to hear some updates soon (considering the director’s relationship with Uwais and Ruhian, expect one of these guys took part in the film). Until then, don’t miss our review for Beyond Skyline (via FCS).
Director: Kang Yoon-Sung Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Yoon Kye-Sang, Jo Jae-Yun, Choi Gwi-Hwa, rk Ji-Hwan, Hong Ki-Joon Running Time: 121 min.
By Z Ravas
I walked away from 2016’s smash hit Train to Busanwith a distinct impression that supporting actor Ma Dong-seok had stolen the movie – no small feat in a film about a train full of rabid zombies! Although I’d caught the actor in plenty of parts before, including Kundo: Age of the Rampantand The Unjust, it was his role as a proud papa-to-be defending his family against the zombie masses that forever endeared Ma Dong-seok to me. Only a year later, he’s back with a role that feels entirely tailored to Dong-seok and his onscreen persona, which is one that’s equal parts lovable teddy bear and hulking bruiser.
The Outlaws is based on the true story of a 2007-era police operation that saw a sweeping round-up of gangs in the Guro District of Seoul. One neighborhood there in particular, Garibong-dong, has long served as a home to many Chinese citizens who have emigrated to Korea seeking economic prosperity. Unfortunately, Seoul’s version of Chinatown is also plagued by criminals and lowlifes, some of whom smuggled themselves into the country to escape Chinese authorities. As the film opens, Ma Dong-seok’s seasoned detective is able to keep the peace on his beat by primarily serving as a mediator between gangs, most of whom are petty hoods just looking for a little extortion money – not drug dealers or murderers. Ma Dong-seok’s laconic style of police work, which occasionally sees him sitting down for tea or sharing a drink at a karaoke bar with organized crime for the sake of brokering a truce, is challenged by the emergence of a nihilistic criminal (played by Golden Slumber‘s Yoon Kye-sang) and his duo of vicious enforcers.
I’m imagining the film’s storyline is “loosely” based on real life incidents, as the conflict in The Outlaws quickly boils over to the kind of street-level anarchy one might expect in a Takashi Miike Yakuza flick. In fact, part of pleasure of The Outlaws‘ opening half hour is watching the Guro District’s carefully maintained ecosystem utterly up-ended by Yoon Kye-sang, an almost Joker-like instigator who has no qualms about chopping off someone’s hand if he feels they’ve disrespected him. Ma Dong-seok’s scrappy police team and the other local hoods are all caught entirely unprepared for Yoon Kye-sang’s savage gangland takeover, and the pressure to capture the dangerous criminal mounts as the body count rises.
46 year-old writer/director Kang Yoon-sung appears to have arrived out of nowhere, but he actually spent a few years as an actor before realizing he felt more at home behind the camera. The Outlaws makes for an auspicious debut, and the movie not only made a splash at the box office but landed Kang Yoon-sung a well-deserved nomination for Best New Director at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. Part of the reason the film is so successful is how vividly the filmmaker captures the texture and feel of the Guro District. The movie lands on the shortlist of Korean movies that really go out of their way to establish a sense of place beyond the neon glow of downtown Seoul, and the screenplay devotes time to depicting just how much local business owners and concerned citizens are suffering due to the turf warfare erupting around them. Kang Yoon-sung reportedly spent three years perfecting the script, and it shows; much like Asura: City of Madness, I would not be surprised if the director was in part inspired by HBO’s The Wire, as the film displays some of that show’s scope and ambition.
Despite plenty of humor, much of it derived from Ma Dong-seok’s pitch-perfect comic timing, The Outlaws doesn’t shy away from brutal violence or short bursts of choreographed action; Kang Yoon-sung even offers an impressive single camera take of Yoon Kye-sang slicing up the guests at a birthday party with a hatchet. One might say a flaw of the script is that it has to tie itself in knots to make sure Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang never end up in the same room together, lest the film be over long before its two hour runtime; but when the hard-nosed detective and amoral crime boss finally do come face to face, the wait is more than worth it. From True Lies toThe Man From Nowhere, there’s something of an unwritten rule that fight scenes in bathrooms are always good, and – without spoiling anything – The Outlaws gives a titanic tussle in the Incheon International Airport bathroom that certainly lives up to the memorable action sequences that have come before.
Ever since Oldboygained the attention of the international scene way back in 2003, South Korean has been firing on all cylinders with stellar genre fare; even so, it feels like the industry has been on a particular hot streak during the past few years, and for me The Outlaws easily ranks alongside the best the country has been offering as of late. The film offers a role that feels tailor made for charismatic tough guy Ma Dong-seok, and serves as the rare blend of action and comedy that doesn’t hold back when it comes to hard-hitting violence. No matter what project writer/director Kang Yoon-sung tackles next, I guarantee I’ll be buying a ticket.
On May 8, 2018, Kino will be releasing the uncut Blu-ray for 1979’s Seven, by cult director Andy Sidaris. In Seven, a government agent discovers a plot by a cartel of seven gangsters to take over the state of Hawaii. He hires a team of seven hitmen to stop them.
The film stars William Smith (Any Which Way You Can), Barbara Leigh (Terminal Island), Guich Koock (American Ninja), Christopher Joy (Cleopatra Jones), Art Metrano (Breathless), Grandmaster Ed Parker (Kill the Golden Goose), Richard LePore (Stacey), Lenny Montana (The Godfather) and Martin Kove (Rambo: First Blood Part II).
Seven marks one of the earliest titles in Andy Sidaris’ Bullets, Bombs, and Babes or Bullets, Bombs, and Boobs (BBB for short) series of action B-movies, which featured Playboy Playmates and Penthouse “Pets”.
Rising star Wesley Wong (Pacific Rim Uprising), son of legendary Hong Kong actors Angie Chiu (Private Eyes) and Melvin Wong (Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit), will star in the GenFilms’ original production Qi : Spacetime Warriors, an upcoming sci-fi actioner directed by Jessie Kerry and renowned Hong Kong/Hollywood action director/stunt coordinator Andy Cheng (Red Line, End Game, Rush Hour).
The following information is from the film’s official press release:
Qi takes place in a technologically evolved society of a future China and tells the story of the Chinese Taoist (Wong), who is destined to become a Spacetime Warrior and save the universe from an ancient threat from another dimension determined to destroy the world.
Qi’s script, which won Silver for Best Original Screenplay at the 2017 Chinese Canada Golden Maple Film Festival, was written in English with sections in Chinese, Russian and an artificial language making it a unique concept in the Sino-foreign co-production landscape. Qi will include many Chinese actors and martial artists while also featuring about 36 foreign roles.
Other signed talent include Chinese actor Stefan Sun (Legend of Princess Lanling), New Zealand actor James Trevena-Brown (Shannara Chronicles) and Canadian-Chinese actor Kent S. Leung (John Apple Jack), with Australian actor Marcus Vanco (Shannara Chronicles) and Spanish actor Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth) in talks for major support roles, and mixed race Chinese talent Julia Lilly Sives has been cast in a special role that will bridge cultures.
Qi’s pre-production is scheduled for December 2018 at the renown Wanda Studios in Qingdao, China and will commence with Principal Photography in March 2019 with the World-Premiere set for May 2021 at Cannes International Film Festival.
We’ll keep you updated on this project as we hear more. Until then, here’s a look at what director Andy Cheng is capable of in the Trailer for 2007’s Redline:
According to Zindela, here’s what you can expect from this South African-set actioner: Zulu and Thailand cultures clash when the son of Lion slayer, Senzo, confronts a dangerous Thailand con man. Vitaya controls rhino poaching business and illegal diamond mines in the region, but everything goes wrong when a local boy steals one of his rhino horns…
Red Cargo also stars Osas Ighodaro Ajibade (Cadillac Records), Israel Makoe (Beyond the River), Zozeen Panyanut Jirarottanakasem (Monkey Twins), Sumret Muengput (BKO: Bangkok Knockout) and Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe (Human Cargo).
Shooting is expected to to start in June. Until then, be on the lookout for JeeJa Yanin’s appearance in the all-star martial arts spectacle Triple Threat, which opens later this year.
Popular Hong Kong actress Sandra Ng (Jian Bing Man, In the Line of Duty 3) makes her directorial debut with a horror-comedy titled Yao Yao Ling (aka The Monsters’ Bell). The film will be available exclusively on Digital this April 3rd from Well Go USA under the title Goldbuster.
A quirky internet star, a pair of retired gangsters, and the black sheep of a prolific family of herbalists are a few of the oddball tenants that call the dilapidated apartments of Humble Grove home. Fearful of being locked out by a ruthless property developer with his eye on the building, they’ve stayed inside for years. So, when supernatural incidents befall them all on one night, instead of running, they turn to flamboyant ghost hunter Golden Ling to perform a most unusual exorcism.
Director: Ryoo Seung-wan Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, So Ji-Sub, Song Joong-Ki, Lee Jung-Hyun, Kim Soo-Ahn, Kim In-Woo, Kim Joong-Hee, Lee Kyoung-Young, Shin Seung-Hwan, Ahn Se-Ho Running Time: 132 min.
ByZ Ravas
Although director Ryoo Seung-wan has engaged in big-budget spectacle in the recent past – 2013’s The Berlin File felt like the filmmaker’s attempt to top the Bourne trilogy, and long before that he’d dabbled in the superhero (Arahan) and spoof (Dachimawa Lee) genres – he’s long felt most at home helming scrappy action flicks like the fan favorite City of Violence, not to mention 2015’s box office smash Veteran. Of course, it’s never fair to expect a filmmaker to operate in just one mode, no matter how good they are at it, and so Ryoo Seung-wan is back with his most expensive and ambitious project yet: the World War II epic The Battleship Island.
The film is based on conditions at Hashima Island, home to a daunting military installation that feels one part labor colony, one part wartime fortress, in which the Japanese army forced some 400 Koreans to work in its labyrinth of coal mines. Although the real world location still stands, and is a UNESCO-sanctioned World Heritage site, much of the film’s $21 million dollar budget went into constructing massive sets to replicate Hashima Island (considering how many explosions go off during the movie, it was probably wise not to film at the historical site!). Indeed, the sprawling sets built for the film serve as the viewer’s first indication of Battleship Island‘s biggest selling point: this is easily one of the most impressive Korean productions ever made, and despite some occasionally below-par CGI, Ryoo Seung-wan’s technical accomplishment frequently stands alongside the best Hollywood has to offer.
As the story opens, the Japanese Army is beginning to realize they’re on the losing side of war, even as their country’s leaders direct them to carry on as usual. Part of their orders involves regularly shipping off Korean detainees en masse to work the coal mines of Hashima Island, a perilous job due to unsafe working conditions such as gas leaks and runaway mine carts. Despite their will to escape, and the measured leadership of an exiled Korean political figure (played by The Pirates‘ Lee Kyoung-Young), no prisoners have managed to overtake their captors or flee the ocean-bound fortress.
But that fate might just change with the most recent shipment of laborers, a ragtag group that includes a womanizing band leader (Hwang Jung-min) and his young daughter (Train to Busan’sKim Soo-ahn), as well as a swaggering gangster (So Ji-sub). So Ji-sub is an actor known primarily for his work on Korean television, but I imagine most Westerners will recognize him as the titular character from A Company Man, as well as the Kim Ki-duk-penned Rough Cut. Hwang Jung-min, meanwhile, needs no introduction, as he arguably the most recognizable actor working in Korean cinema these days; I have to confess that Jung-min’s presence took me out of the movie somewhat, simply because he is the sole Movie Star in a film that is clearly attempting to convince you of its historical verisimilitude, but you won’t catch me saying a bad word about his performance.
If The Battleship Island possesses a fatal flaw, it’s that it too often feels like a holdover from the many Korean productions we saw circa 2014, such as The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale, in which the Japanese villains are portrayed as extremely one-dimensional, desperately evil monsters, a characterization that is likely exacerbated here due to the World War II setting. As in those pictures, the Japanese characters are portrayed by Korean actors, and the only direction from Ryoo Seung-wan seems to be for them to play their parts as big and broad as possible. The movie also pulls no punches when addressing the Japanese military’s use of “comfort women” – while it mercifully stops short of depicting the practice onscreen, it is distressing how often the screenplay threatens the audience with something unspeakable happening to the very young Kim Soo-ahn. There’s even a (brief) flashback of Japanese soldiers rolling a Korean schoolgirl over a bed of nails that recalls the notorious nastiness of Men Behind the Sun.
Granted, I doubt most audiences are asking for a World War II movie that glosses over the atrocities of that time period, but offering up such a one dimensional and cartoony portrayal of the Japanese hardly seems to do right by the people who endured hardships on Hashima Island. Indeed, some of the survivors of the labor camp have spoken out against the film’s inaccuracies – as just one example, the Japanese are seen in the film burning the corpses of deceased workers en masse, when in reality Koreans were offered respectable burials. Fortunately, the fictional storyline is enlivened by the addition of Song Joong-ki as a capable Korean spy who infiltrates the mine in order to rescue Lee Kyoung-Young’s political leader. Despite his babyface looks, Song Joong-ki proves quite believable during his action sequences; there’s even one scene in which he takes down some soldiers with a detached bayonet that felt clearly inspired by the opening battle sequence of Donnie Yen’s Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen. Events are soon set in motion that will see the forced laborers attempt a daring escape from the Island, which leads to the movie’s climactic setpiece (and perhaps its biggest flight of fantasy).
Even with a hefty runtime devoted to telling this story – and the Director’s Cut is reportedly even longer at 151 minutes – by the end it’s clear that Ryoo Seung-wan’s real interest in this tale lies in staging the miners’ heroic prison breakout, and it’s a grand finale worthy of any Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott picture, complete with crane shots that soar over the battlefield and an emotive score. If Ryoo Seung-wan is hoping to cross the pond to Hollywood like his peers Kim Jee-woon and Chan-wook Park, he has no doubt delivered his calling card with the visually stunning Battleship Island. Fans of his leaner and meaner action flicks like The Unjustwill likely be entertained by the spectacle on display during the climax, but with such a simplistic depiction of the events surrounding Hashima Island, the movie too often feels like the most superficial retelling possible of what is, in actuality, a remarkable true story.
No, it’s not a remake of the 1976 Martin Scorsese classic Taxi Driver (nor is it a remake of the David Chiang film). This Taxi Driveris based on the true story of Korean taxi driver and his adventures with a German reporter during the violent Gwangju Uprising.
A Taxi Driver also stars Thomas Kretschmann, Yu Hae-Jin (Veteran) and Ryoo Joon-Yeol (No Tomorrow).
Director: Chan Tung-Man, Noda Yukio Cast: Sonny Chiba Shinichi, Luk Chuen, Shiomi Etsuko, Bolo Yeung Sze, Fong Yuen, Kong Chuen, Tadashi Yamashita, Lau Nga-Ying, Peter Chan Hoh-San, Krung Srivilai, Naowarat Yooktanun, Somjit Sapsamruey Running Time: 94 min.
By Paul Bramhall
At the risk of blacklisting myself from ever writing for an Asian cinema site again, I’ll admit I initially wasn’t very enamoured with Sonny Chiba. When I first got into Asian cinema in the late 90’s, I found myself developing an insatiable appetite for Hong Kong action and, without realizing it, I came to expect action from any corner of Asia to be on the same level. When, inevitably, I found myself watching The Street Fighter, its exploitative tone and raw karate style were met with indifference from my younger self. What was the deal with everyone digging this guy so much? Of course, in the preceding years I’ve come to appreciate The Streetfighter for the raucous slice of OTT exploitation greatness that it is, but let it be said – if the first Sonny Chiba movie I watched back then was Soul of Chiba, I would have been on the bandwagon straight away!
In 1977, allegedly tired of the Toei executives lack of understanding on how to make a proper karate movie, Chiba took matters into his own hands and hauled ship over to Thailand to produce a movie over there (and more importantly, do things his way). He brought several members of his Japan Action Club with him, including Etsuko Shihomi, and the director and star pairing of the Za Karate trilogy, Yukio Noda and Tadashi Yamashita (aka Bronson Lee). Throw in the likes of Bolo, and frequent Shaw Brothers player Luk Chuen, what you’re left with is 90 minutes of unadulterated, delirious entertainment.
Dispensing with such trivialities as a coherent plot and characters that make a lick of sense, Soul of Chiba chooses to go for broke from the word go, with a frequently laugh out loud nonsensical plot, some of the best action I’ve seen Chiba partake in, and randomness around every corner. The guilty parties at the helm are co-directors Yukio Noda and Chan Tung-man (the father of Peter Chan, director of Wu Xia, who also has a small role as a child that looks up to Chiba). Noda was a journeyman director in Japan, and would also direct Chiba again during the same year in Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon. Tung-man on the other hand is more interesting, and seemed to specialise in Hong Kong or Taiwan co-productions with Thailand, with titles like Killer in the Dark and The Wolf Girl (sadly no relation to Chiba’s Wolf Guy) contributing to his short filmography of just 5 movies.
There are various angles one could take when considering how best to explain the plot, and after some deliberation, I’ve decided to go at it like this. There are essentially 3 main characters – Chiba, who we meet as a child when the movie opens just as his parents are murdered. Swearing to take revenge, he grows up under the tutelage of an old kung-fu master, however when the master is murdered by a traitorous student (Luk Chuen), he decides to hunt him down instead (seriously, his mission to avenge his parents is never mentioned again). There’s been some shady drug dealings going on involving the murdered teacher and student, so Yamashita turns up as an undercover cop (= a fake moustache) to get to the bottom of where the drugs are coming from.
Then you have Thai actor Krung Srivilai, whose unfinished Thai movies often turned up in cut and paste IFD ninja flicks, playing a black market diamond and drug dealer visiting from Hong Kong. Hilariously, Srivilai’s character is treated almost like a suave 007 style debonair, as he seduces Shaw Brothers sexpot Lau Nga-Ying (indulging in some From Here to Eternity beach frolics), and struts around with a confident swagger. Somewhere along the way, he kind of/sort of sees the error of his ways, as he comes to terms with his difficult upbringing (more on that later). This results in Yamashita teaming up with both Srivilai and Chiba at various points throughout, but for those wondering, there’s no need for concern as this is very much the Chiba show, despite him not always being front and center.
It would take forever to detail all of the wonderful bizarreness contained within Soul of Chiba’s duration, but my favorite moment was when Srivilai takes a bullet, so Yamashita sends him down the river to his family, who he promises will take care of him. While there he falls unconscious, constantly yelling “Mother! Mother!”, until he wakes up and it’s revealed that… Yamashita’s mother is also Srivilai’s mother! The mother then proceeds to ramble on for what feels like 5 minutes stating this fact, “This man is my son, yes, he really is my son…” It’s one of the strangest family reunions ever committed to celluloid, but is quickly topped by another scene of Chiba training his fists and feet in an insane flurry of motion, while electricity surges through his body via various electrodes connected to his limbs (and posterior, as the camera frequently reminds us).
As if turning yourself into a human car battery wasn’t enough, he also kills the pain by gulping down handfuls of cocaine. Yes, long before Beast Cops gave us Anthony Wong going into battle under a cocktail of booze and pills, Soul of Chiba has Sonny Chiba throwing down while fuelled on the white stuff. No wonder he’s forgotten about avenging his parents. Regardless of the moral ambiguity of it all, the fight scenes on display are of a stellar quality. The budget is obviously much lower than Chiba’s local Japan productions, but this was made up for by the fact he gave himself much longer to film than Toei would provide on native soil. From a confrontation against a group of Muay Thai fighting locals on a bridge, which has Chiba literally throw one of them like a ragdoll into the river below, to a face off against four fighters in the jungle, who are possessed by monkey magic.
This fight is a particular standout for a myriad of reasons. The fighters, played by members of the Japan Action Club, eschew the traditional monkey style kung fu, instead opting to utilise a more feral approach, that sees them attempting to bite Chiba to death. When Chiba decides to let loose, it’s a sight to see, in a wildly satisfying display of ferocity. Amusingly, one part of the fight has someone off-screen throwing real monkeys at Chiba, but I guess that’s Thai filmmaking for you. This fight also utilises the technique that was first seen in Karate Warriors, with the mix of slow motion and normal speed within the same shot (which in more recent times Isaac Florentine has become known for using), used to emphasise both the impacts and the choreography itself. While some say today the technique is overused, here it’s a perfect example of how it can enhance a fight.
Events eventually build up to Chiba and Yamashita closing in on Luk Chuen, Bolo, and the equivalent of a small army in the Thai jungle, for an extended finale that features more bullets missing people at point blank range than you can shake a stick at. After dispensing of wave after wave of hapless lackeys, the finale culminates in a showdown that pits Chiba versus a silver wigged Chuen, and Yamashita versus a trilby hat wearing Bolo. Seeing the karate style pitted against kung fu is perhaps Soul of Chiba’s biggest strength, as in a way it forces it to look more dynamic than how it’s usually portrayed, and both fights are a pleasure to watch. It’s likely a safe guess that both Chuen and Bolo contributed their own ideas to the choreography, especially considering Chuen choreographed The Damned from the same year, and Bolo also contributed to 10 Magnificent Killers.
There aren’t too many movies like Soul of Chiba out there. It feels like the wild exploitative nature of Japanese karate flicks collided head on with the energy of the Hong Kong kung-fu movie, crash landing in Thailand. Instead of going up in flames though, a strange kind of alchemy occurred and the end result somehow works, if not necessarily in all of the ways it intended. Throw in a random parasailing escape, grilled parrot for supper, lackeys being blow torched in the face, and a bow and arrow being made out of some string and a twig, the best way to describe Soul of Chiba is like a jolt of electricity to the posterior. You may want to pretend you didn’t enjoy it, but the reality is, it leaves you wanting more.
Note: The version being reviewed is the English dubbed release.
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