|
Brutal is the immediate adjective that comes to mind when watching Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins. It’s a gloriously harsh and bloody affair; limbs and heads are hacked off and there are enough scenes of hari-kari to make even the strong-stomached reconsider their path in life. Yet, 13 Assassins is also an epic tale of feudal alliances and shogun honor. Visually rich and always engaging, Miike’s film – while not the easiest film to digest – is certainly a must-see for fans of Asian cinema and of the genre.
The movie opens with a ritual suicide in which one clan elder protests the brutal actions of the shogun's younger brother, Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki). Recognizing that Naritsugu’s rise to power means the end of peace, Sir Doi (Mikijiro Hira) forms an alliance of thirteen assassins (hence the title) and defy their honor (or are they celebrating it? You decide.) and go on a suicide mission to bring about the death of the cruel Naritsugu. To grind the political intrigue that fuels the first part of the film down to its bare bones, know that one clan essentially commits “total massacre” against one man protected by 200 soldiers.
While the film is a bit of a “talker” in that the first part is pure politics and a sort of gathering of the troops (with the occasional beheading along the way), know that the lengthy battle scene that closes the film is brilliant and epic and every bit worthy of your full attention early on. Full of charging flame-broiled bulls and extreme violence, the final battle scene is one for the record books. The gore is not cartoonish in the least which makes this film all the more dangerous and smart. Hands and arms and legs get lost; swords get plunged into bodies with a sickening thunk of watermelon spooge and many, many lives are lost.
Filmed by Nobuyasu Kita, the camera is as involved in the action as some of its key players. Muddied and bloodied and tipped over during battle, Kita’s camera is all over the place providing edge-of-your-seat thrills and beautiful scenery. Even the most bloodied of soldiers looks beautifully strong against this backdrop. The tiniest of moments become powerful statements of honor and code and give this film a value higher than that of an asian-styled revenge flick. Yes, in spite of its use of blood and violence or maybe because of it, 13 Assassins is a beautiful film.
The film is also an example of when remakes go right. Essentially, 13 Assassins is a retelling of a 1963 feature by Eichi Kudo which, while famous in its own right, was marred by production woes and a limited budget. Here, Miike has opens the story up a bit and gives it the added (and violent) oomph to be something more than a simple remake with a known audience. A cash grab this isn’t. The villain is barbaric and heroes are honorable. It doesn’t get much simpler.
With wonderful performances from Koji Yakusho and Yusuke Iseya and a thunderous score with which to annihilate foes by, Miike’s film is a masterpiece of gleaming brutality. And yet, that description is a bit unfair as there are many levels to the politics involved; it is so much more than a march of madness toward death’s door. 13 Assassins, magnificent and beautiful and so very deadly, is a brilliantly wild untamed animal of Asian cinema.
MPAA Rating: R for sequences of strong bloody horror violence and gore, graphic nudity, sexual content, language and some drug use.
