The World of Kanako

A jaded Japanese detective reevaluates his faded memories of his estranged teenage daughter when asked by his ex-wife to investigate her disappearance in this one-of-a-kind crime drama directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. The film is assembled with a very vibrant visual style that varies from rapid fire edits to bouts of animation to slow paced, leisurely shots that bask in the beauty of Christmas lights. The film also begins in a curious anti-narrative manner as the protagonist's memories are mixed with clips of his daughter partying and the police quizzing him. Narrative point-of-view is also broken for several flashbacks told from his daughter's boyfriend's perspective. Given the plot and stylistic touches, the film is perhaps best described as 'Kill Bill' meets 'The Third Man' and it gets points for originality alone. The dialogue is full of philosophical quips too about how some of us are not "cut out to be a human being" and how easy it is "to fall into a hole so deep" that you keep falling. Yet, for all its daringness and intelligence, the film does not entirely work. The actual solution to the girl's disappearance is mundane and the value of all the red herrings is debatable, especially the question mark placed over the true nature of his relationship to his daughter, but it does cause one to think. The ultimate messages at hand are relatively simple (not everyone is who you think they are; some vices in life are dangerous), however, the emotional roller-coaster is a hard experience to shake. This is an effective film in that it gets you in the protagonist's mind and forces you to question how you would react. The Harry Lime dynamic also works well with a protagonist as naïve as Holly Martins. This is not however the easiest film under the sun to endure.

I think my headline pretty much says it all but this is a movie that infuses style, gore, cartoon, and fantasy to tell a story full of rape, violence, domestic abuse and pedophilia. A father searches for his daughter but what he finds lands him in the middle of a war between the mob, filled with police corruption, and school bullying. And this is not a spoiler, nor does it scratch the surface. It is a ridiculously creative film but the plot and characters just are not redeemable and that impacts how enjoyable the film is. And this is coming from someone who loves Moebius and Von Trier movies, but I don't find much to grasp onto here.

It is very violent. More than that, it is disturbing, depressing and desperate. We follows our protagonist, former detective and divorcée Akikazu Fujishima (Koji Yakusho) as he searches for his missing daughter Kanako (Nana Komatsu) and learns about her secret life. Through this search, different dark sides of the society emerges which make you antsy in your seat.

The more we go along, the more disturbing and depressing the movie seems to portray. None of the characters are lovable. All the institutions: family, police, and schools are malfunctioning. The movie depicts a sick society which appears to be OK but is buried with lots of problems where people are betraying each other and families are and non-communicative and destructive.

All characters are pathetic in different ways though they may not be innately devilish. Somehow something goes wrong and everything falls into this big chaos or trap where people do not know how to show their care or use the wrong way to show their love which end up causing more damage as they resort to violence and betrayal.

A very sad movie that paints a tragic side of Japanese culture, or can it happen in any culture, regardless of economic development? People yearning for love, care, respect and recognition and identification, but what they meet is betrayal, ignorance, bullying, and violence. Very twisted characters and relationships that make you feel so disappointed and horrified with humanity.

On the surface, or in the beginning, you see angels who seem to be your revelation. Kanako appears to be such an angel. But not until his cop father starts to look into her disappearance does he realize how much he understands/misunderstands his daughter, ditto his wife and vice versa. Similar misperception happens at school and in the police station.

Perhaps it just serves as a warning sign to us all: in many ways the people around us could just be like that if we hit the wrong button. Look at all the random shootings in the US. And the terrorist attacks. We would not know when they will turn against us and we just have to constantly remind ourselves to be alert.

Very good acting of the cast in creating a haunting atmosphere. I would not like to befriend with any of the characters.

This is one of those films that you need to pay attention to. It is about Kanako Fujishima who is a bright and beautiful high school student. She is 'the cool set' all by herself and everyone wants to know her. Then one day she goes missing with no trace and no apparent reason for having done so. She lives with her mum who has divorced her father due to his atrocious behaviour.

He was a cop who quit the force around the same time and has become a drug and drink dependant security guard ever since – a state of affairs which has done little to improve his behaviour. However, when their daughter goes missing he is called by his estranged wife to find her. Thus begins a search in which he wants to find his daughter, but in doing so he uncovers a whole side to her that he had never imagined.

Now this is a film that I completely loved and was a bit bowled over by to be honest. It starts a bit full on with plenty of blood splatter – a theme that is repeated rather a lot throughout the 114 minute run time. Ex cop Akikazu is a real 'piece of work', brutish, violent, paradoxical and about as likable as a bout of gangrene.

He explodes onto the screen is a flurry of abuse which he sort of maintains throughout. He drives a 1970's Nissan Gloria which is in keeping with a lot of the styling here. That being the opening sequences are very seventies and full of Batman like words imposed in cartoon on the screen – mainly violent or profane. There is animation throughout too. It is violent, it is bonkers in places and to my amazement I actually laughed a couple of times. There are a few minor issues with continuity but nothing that could possibly detract from the overall impact of this great piece of Japanese movie making.

I had previously seen an earlier film helmed by Tetsuya Nakashima, namely Confessions (2010). I seem to remember that one dealt with some disturbing material involving high school kids. Well, this latest film from Nakashima also delves into these particular waters. In this one we have an older central character, a man who is an alcoholic, violent and a bad father. He is a former detective who is on the hunt for his missing daughter. As he progresses in his investigation, layer by layer he discovers more and more of his teenage daughter's horrendous double-life.

This Japanese mystery-thriller was not unlike the South Korean film Oldboy (2003) with its complete absence of likable characters populating a world where every part of society is rotten. If anything, this movie is even more extreme in this regard. It's a very violent film, although its heavy stylization meant that the nastier elements are less disturbing overall. In truth the style that the film presents its story is possibly both its strength and its weakness. It is made up of rapid edits, with memories and present day occurrences being interwoven together. It is a bit full-on I have to say and thank heavens for the rewind button! It can be hard to follow if I am totally honest and you will need to be alert to keep up with this one. So I think the presentation can be a bit of an issue, however, it is also this very complex editing that ensures that the story is more compelling. Once you look back on it, the story has certain weaknesses, with an ultimate resolution to the mystery not necessarily being as interesting as the journey we take getting there. But the journey is interesting and dynamically told and, in fairness, I am sure this one would benefit from a re-watch given that there really is a lot going on. In addition to the relentless editing, there are also anime and comic-book graphics interspersed throughout, as well as twee Japanese schoolgirl material mixed in with disturbing and violent stuff; while there is a constant reference to 'Alice in Wonderland' with the idea of a girl falling down a hole that just keeps on going. It's a heady mix of ideas all things considered and I have to say that its ambitious presentation made this one a film well worth seeing.