Review of Shinjuku Triad Society

Introduction

People say that the first volume in Tikashi Miike`s `The Black Society Trilogy` is a good introduction to the Director`s work. As his first cinema release (rather than straight-2-video), this represented something of a breakthrough for the young, maverick Director. Despite having initially only been put on a modest cinema run to promote the video, it quickly established him internationally and it won him a `Best New Director` nomination from the Director`s Guild.

So this was my first glimpse into the dark world of Miike`s making, now more popularly known through his acclaimed `Ichi the Killer` and `Audition` movies.

This film is pretty much a standard Yakuza flick (Japanese / Chinese Mafia) and is pretty much a relentless trip into a seedy, ultra-violent netherworld where it`s principal characters have become brutally de-humanised and de-sensitised.
It starts with the lines: `I know a love story that`s both sweet and sickening. That`s the way love is.` That`s certainly the way `love is` in this movie which traces the extraordinary sacrifices that a young son is prepared to make for his aging parents.

The movie features two brothers who are the sons of a Chinese-Japanese man who, upon discovering that he was fathered by a Japanese soldier during WW2, has moved from China into Japan, where he is very much treated as a second-class citizen; part of a `Black Society`. One of the sons is a cop. A hard-nosed, tough-guy cop whose used to fighting fire with fire and stops at nothing to get results. (We see him break a chair across the face of a female suspect at the start of the movie and this pretty much defines his credentials). Violent crime is rife in Shinjuku, a district of Tokyo populated by a wide mix of ethnic groups. Much of this violence is attributed to a man names `Wang` who is the leader of the ruthless Dragon-Claw sub-sector of the Chinese Mafia. The tale takes a twist when this cop, Tatsuhito, discovers that his own brother has got involved with the Dragon Claw, and has now disappeared.

What follows is a frenetic, adrenalin filled hunt for his brother, every step taking him closer to an inevitable confrontation with the ruthless Wang.

The movie moves from the Shinjuku back streets, to the back streets of impoverished Taipei, revealing a dark, depraved underworld that feeds on violent cruelty and sex. This includes the raping of a male suspect, the graphic slashing of a policeman`s throat, and the gouging out of a brothel Madame`s eye. It`s not for the feint hearted!

There`s much in the way of violent homosexuality in the movie too, probably an attempt by Miike to further alienate the cast of outsiders from the mainstream.

Thematically, `The Black Society Trilogy` is joined by its portrayal of non-Japanese Yakusi and their ostracised status in modern Japan. There`s also a strong sense of the importance of family, and ultimately the futility of love, but they`re pretty much the only connects. Each sits independently of the other and can be easily viewed in any order, or entirely independently.

The pace of the movie is impressive and the wild urgency of the editing compensates for any shortfalls in the look of what is, by modern standards, still a `budget` movie. This is a gritty film in every sense of the word.

Video

Presented in 16:9 Anamorphic Wide-Screen, the transfer looks very good indeed.
This is not only thematically a `dark` movie - it`s literally often extremely dark, with much of the interior action happening in half-lit basements and the exterior action often happening at night. All works fine though.

Audio

Presented in Dolby 2.0, the soundtrack is fine, but never knockout. The music sounds dated (despite being produced in the mid-1990`s) but in truth, is barely noticeable other than during the opening montage, such is the pace and excitement of this roller-coaster ride of a movie.

Features

This edition is richly blessed with worthwhile extras.

The Filmographies and Biographies are standard text based but Miike`s (for example) runs to some 19 pages, and are nicely penned.

There are two interviews with Miike. One where he is sitting on a sofa looking every bit like one of the characters in his movies, with sunglasses revealing nothing of his expression. The other is in a white -towelling `dressing gown` and seems to more or less continue where the first left off. Sound is poor on both, and (like in `Lost in Translation`), Miike appears to say much, much more than is registering on the sub-titles though, of course, I can`t be sure. There`s a nice interview with his editor, Yasushi Shimara too. Finally, there`s an audio commentary from Japanese Film expert Tom Mes that sounded very worthwhile but kept sticking for me just after the opening titles.

Conclusion

From the dramatic, fast-cut opening of this frenetic movie, through to the closing titles, this was an impressive, stylised, ultra-violent, highly cynical portrayal of a world gone rotten. This is the first in Miike`s `Black Society` trilogy and is without doubt the most explicitly violent of the three. It`s very difficult to know whether I `enjoyed` the movie. It wasn`t pleasant viewing, but it was certainly compulsive viewing, and highly thought provoking too.

In the final analysis, it`s a courageous movie with great personal style. It`s also filmed and cut with great passion and skill, and despite budget limitations, is a film that really packs a punch.

Certainly not one for the whole family (most of who will squirming with disgust behind a cushion as it plays), but it is an intriguing journey to some of life`s darkest corners. You won`t like what you find there, but then you`re not supposed to.