RSS
Home
Gozu (2003) review
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Courtesy of scifijapan.com
Minami is stuck in a rather peculiar situation. Both him and his closest friend, Ozaki, are members of the Azamawari Crew. Their boss orders Minami to take Ozaki out of the picture. Rumors are swirling about how crazy Ozaki has become, as of late. He claimed a chihuahua was a "yakuza attack dog" and that a random car that happened to be behind them at the time was a "yakuza attack car." When Minami accidentally kills Ozaki before they reach the actual destination for Ozaki's "dismissal," he thinks that things can't get any worse. That is until he reaches the inn where everyone seems to be acting unusual and Ozaki's body disappears. Now on a quest to find where Ozaki has gone, Minami must deal with the bizarre individuals along the way like the innkeeper who shares her breast milk secrets, the white faced man who seems a little to eager to help him on his quest, and then there's that cow-headed creature that shows up in his room late one night. Minami soon realizes that his quest for his lost friend will not only be a long one, but a perplexing one as well.
Let's just say that if you're familiar with Takashi Miike's previous work like Ichi the Killer, Audition, and the banned from TV Masters of Horror episode, "Imprint," that Gozu fits in quite well with Miike's reputation. Gozu reels you in with the opening scene and then seems to snowball as the film goes on. It seems to dawdle through its duration as its weird individuals and events begin to pile up. A particular scene from The Shining ran through my mind throughout the film. The bear costume scene just ran through my head constantly while Gozu was playing. That scene is pretty much a perfect euphemism for Gozu. That specific scene in The Shining was bizarre and disturbing while Gozu is bizarre and disturbing from the opening minutes of the film until the credits roll.
This is also the second film of Miike's involving breast milk that I've had the pleasure of seeing. He must associate that with weirdness or something, which it is. It's not necessarily something that sounds appealing, but once it starts happening it winds up being too horrifying and too unusual to turn away from. Seeing how far Miike is willing to push ideas in his films is one of the reasons people find his films enjoyable. That and originality. Despite the strangeness found in his films, finding something similar to his work is practically impossible. Originality is something that should be cherished when it's found in someone's work, but maybe that's just a personal opinion.
It's hard to label Gozu as a specific genre as it has elements from just about every genre that comes to mind. A dramatic horror with a little bit of mystery thrown in for good measure is the best I can do. The film is definitely a unique trip that definitely isn't for everyone. The most bizarre ideas roaming around in your brain right now probably don't compare to the last twenty or so minutes of Gozu. The events that unfold during that time are pretty jaw dropping. So if you're a Miike fan or are looking for something incredibly different (I'm talking way out there), then this comes highly recommended. There is no way that everyone who views this film enjoy it, but the ending is incredibly memorable if the viewer can make it that far.
Theatrical Release Date: July 30, 2004 (New York)
DVD Release Date: November 23, 2004 (re-release August 11, 2009)
Director: Takashi Miike
Genre: crime, drama, horror, mystery, thriller
Runtime: 130 min
Cast: Yûta Sone as Minami (as Hideki Sone)
Sho Aikawa as Ozaki (as Shô Aikawa)
Kimika Yoshino as Female Ozaki
Shohei Hino as Nose (as Shôhei Hino)
Keiko Tomita as Innkeeper
Harumi Sone as Innkeeper's Brother
Renji Ishibashi as Boss
Links to purchase: Amazon.com
Overall Rating: 7/10
If you can hold out, don't watch the last half of the trailer (from 1:28 until the end). It pretty much spoils the craziest part of the film. Also, the trailer does contain some material that could be considered NSFW. Just a fair warning.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
