Review of Rainy Dog

Introduction

Unlike the first part of Miike`s `The Black Society Trilogy` (Shinjuku Triad Society), `Rainy Dog` is not a blanket of brutality and desensitised depravity. Thematically it covers some of the same territory. The `family` theme is strong here and once again this outsider Yakuzi movie featuring a Japanese-Chinese professional killer.

Takashi Miike is perhaps best known for his relatively recent successes; the internationally revered `Ichi the Killer` and the bizarre psychodrama `Audition`. Somewhat of a maverick, he seemingly `fell` into filmmaking by accident. Initially his work was `straight to video` and in interviews he always professed to having a preference for really good television rather than the movie industry, which he felt, was full of self-aggrandizing dullards. His first theatre release was `Shinjuku Triad Society`, the first part of the trilogy that includes `Rainy Dog` and `Ley Lines`. This first movie met great critical acclaim. He remains incredibly prolific, turning out between four and seven movies per year, straddling many genres, from horror to musical and touching just about everything in-between. Much of his work is punctuated with ultra-violence and very explicit brutality and is certainly not for the squeamish.

Whilst `Rainy Dog` is by no means a violence-free zone, it`s less full-tilt than `Shinjuko`, though in its own way is equally disturbing and somewhat depressing. It`s not an optimistic or positive world-view.

`Rainy Dog` is about a Yazuka killer named Yujiro who`s hiding out in Taipei having committed a contract murder in Japan that has really turned the heat on. He`s a quiet, irritatingly dispassionate man who is recognisable from the vast and elaborate tattoo that covers half his back. He takes on bit-work to get by until his chief brings word that it`s safe to return. One-day news arrives that the old gang don`t want him back. He`s simply no longer required. The same day, a Taiwanese woman (that Yujiro slept with 5 years previously) arrives and dumps a five-year-old boy on his doorstep, claiming he is the father, and now has to care for him.

It`s the introduction of this wide-eyed boy that makes this movie so hard to bear. It`s like a magnifying glass to all the cruelty and brutality that follows.

Looking for decent work (contract killing), Yajiro falls in with the local Triad leader and pursues his victims ruthlessly, generally witnessed by the small boy who follows his `father` around in the relentless rain. (The `Rainy Dog`). Things become more complex as it becomes apparent that a Japanese hitman is hunting Yajiro. Add to this a double-twist that sees a brother of one of Yajiro`s victims form an alliance with his current boss on the condition that he hands Yajiro over to them and the outlook looks inevitably bleak. Between a rock and a hard place, Yajiro must now choose whether to just look out for himself, or also try to take care of the little boy who he believes to be his own son.

Throughout the movie there is a depressingly squalid poverty-stricken air, and with Taiwan`s rainy season in full swing, it generally has a claustrophobic atmosphere that really adds to the growing tension.

The film`s conclusion is not a happy one. This is a tough-tale told straight, no hold barred.

Video

Presented in 16:9 Anamorphic Wide-Screen, the transfer looks very good indeed. The relentless rain and dark squalid interiors are all crystal sharp - and there`s a noticeable improvement in composition from `Shinjuko` which often used hand-held in creating its frenetic pace. Very good indeed.

Audio

Presented here in Dolby Digital 2.0, this is altogether a more satisfying soundtrack than `Shinjuko`. The music is fairly sublime and the dialogue is always set against a back-drop of sheets of rain, frequently whispered but always audible.

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

Whilst this isn`t the frenetic roller-coaster ride of the trilogy`s first movie (Shinjuku Triad Society), this was altogether a more thought-provoking movie. Gone is the relentless violence (that`s back in the streets of Tokyo) - but there`s always a sinister air of something bad brewing here. When the violence does happen it`s all the more marked as it`s (relatively) infrequent. There are a number of complex social issues at play here too, particularly with regard to the discrimination faced by those of mixed-race within Japanese society. Again, this is the tragic tale of a desperate outsider made all the more poignant with the introduction of the young boy. It`s also a movie literally drenched with atmosphere (you`ll never see a more rain-drenched movie), and its layers of meaning will have a resonance long after the end titles have scrolled up your screen into infinity. Watch out though if you`re of a squeamish disposition.