Ovation - Part 2

Ovation Applause

13 Assassins (2010)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Director Miike Takashi was once a cult film phenomenon in Japan with controversial films such as 'Audition', 'Dead or Alive' series, and 'Koroshiya Ichi'. Recently, however, his works are getting more mainstream-friendly with high-budgeted films such as "Crows ZERO" series, 'Ryuu ga Gotoku', and 'Yatterman'. Sure, there's still plenty of violence, but nowhere near as shocking nor horrifying as his earlier films. Is he a sellout? Perhaps. But how can we blame him? You'll be approached by major studios once you attain certain level of fame, and higher budget means it must appeal to more people in order to get the investment back. '13 Assassins' delivers exactly that despite being a Japanese period piece, which traditionally appealed only to the older generation and film buffs. The movie was screened at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival under 'Masters' category, "Films made by the most influential directors living today", and Miike Takashi lives up to expectations.

'13 Assassins' is supposedly a remake of 1963 jidaigeki (Japanese period piece) of same title. Let me tell you this, the movie is not a true jidaigeki. Miike Takashi has transformed it into a 126 minutes of pure fun and excitement.

The story is about an assassination attempt of a tyrant lord by 13 'true' samurais who are believers in justice and uprising on behalf of the People in the year 1844. The original film was famous for its 30 minutes of continuous battle sequence, and the remake's may be even longer. Long story short, it's action-packed, and more people got slashed than in the 'Azumi' series in this movie.

As a service to Miike's cult following, the movie is far more violent than typical jidaigeki, with plenty of gut-exploding, head-rolling action and some grotesque scenes involving a woman with separated limbs (who created a plot device that ultimately became one of the most dramatic scenes in the movie). Unlike other Japanese war epics, the movie also has a modern sense of humor with plenty of comedic reliefs, astonishingly beautiful cinematography in the forest, and advanced battle tactics. What's surprising, is that none of it felt unnatural and corny like every other modern jidaigeki films that attempted and failed miserably to modernize period pieces, such as "Tsukigami" and "Sakuran".

The cast is truly star galore with some of the biggest names in Japanese acting, and experienced supporting actors. About half of them are actors with extremely unique or modern faces that I would've never expected to see in a period piece, but none of the characters seemed out of place even though their faces are still very much identifiable. The biggest surprise was the choice of boy band SMAP member, Inagaki Gorou as the twisted villainous lord. Not only did he hold his own among far more talented full-time actors, he was vital in much of the humor that made this film a success. Truly talented directors are capable of drawing the most out of his cast, and Miike had done just that.

'13 Assassins' is a movie destined to become a blockbuster. Time just flies by when you're having fun, and the audience at the TIFF screening were applauding in every cool and dramatic scenes, and eventually turned into a standing ovation as the credits started rolling.

Remakes are all about translating an outdated (or foreign culture) piece into a work that appeals to the modern (or local) audience. '13 Assassins' does both with universal language of comedy and violence which transformed a classic period piece into a thriller for the modern taste that anyone over the age of 12 (or whatever age restrictions this film will get in your country) can enjoy despite being a jidaigeki. I would recommend this movie to just about everyone. In fact, you don't even need to be a Japanese movie buff to appreciate it. Mainstream film-making at its very best.

On my list of favorite directors, there is always a place for Takashi Miike. I was introduced to Miike with Audition in 1999 and I have collected his titles like a hunter would deer heads. Go up and down my DVD collection and you will find Ichi the Killer, 3 Extremes, Visitor Q, Gozu, One Missed Call and Imprint. I don't know if any other working director has as many titles represented on my 'owned' list. Naturally, when I saw that Miike was bringing his latest effort, 13 Assassins, to the Toronto International Film Festival, I was sure to secure a ticket for the screening. 13 Assassins is a bit of a departure for the hard working Miike (Miike has 82 director credits to his name on IMDb.com). His films have generally been violent films set in modern times. And many of his films have been banned or misunderstood (Audition, Ichi the Killer). The synopsis for 13 Assassins - A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord - doesn't read like a Takashi Miike film, but with the violence and torture evident in the film's first reel, I was quickly assured that 13 Assassins was imprinted with classic Miike moments. 13 Assassins starts by addressing the villain of the film, Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira (Gorô Inagaki) who is one nasty sonofabitch. We watch as Naritsugu shoots arrows into an entire family who are bound and lying on the ground. Even the youngest child isn't saved from the flying arrows. We also witness a peasant girl who has had her arms and legs cut off. Even her tongue was removed by the sadistic Naritsugu after her family was massacred. These atrocities propel Shinzaemon Shimada (Kôji Yakusho) to abandon his Samurai values and he begins to amass a group of warriors that will attempt to ambush Naritsugu and his army of approximately 70 men in a town named Ochlai. His warriors amount to twelve, but when they set out on their mission and inadvertently become lost in the thick jungle, a 13th assassin – a hunter who knows the terrain – joins the band of samurai out to avenge past wrongs and to ensure that Naritsugu doesn't reach the Akashi domain where he is destined to become second in command to The Shogun. The first third of the film deals with Shimada amassing the team and learning of further Naritsugu acts of violence against the people of Japan. But when they samurai set up their ambush in Ochlai, the fun really beings and the final chapters are non-stop action and samurai fighting. 13 Assassins is not only the most accomplished and polished film of Takashi Miike's career, it is also the best film we have watched so far at the Toronto International Film Festival. And judging by the audience's reaction, I was not along in this sediment. The action sequences were relentless and maintained a momentum that The Expendables could only wish for. Every one of the 13 assassins were identifiable and had interesting attributes (the warrior, the loco, the one who uses spears…). The sound that accompanied the action was award worthy. The theatre rocked with explosions and with the sounds of blades cutting flesh and was only drowned out by the consistent audience applause in appreciation. Last year, I picked The Good, The Bad and The Weird to be my favorite film of the year. This year, 13 Assassins stands tall at the top of the list with just a few months to go.

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1979 Ovation Applause AA-31 Cracked Bowl - 1st Epoxy Resin