choden

Kensaku Watanabe's third feature-length film, Loved Gun is an awesome work, full of emotions, passion and precision. Lives of a hit man and a young girl meet at the crossroads of quests, conflicts, and traumas. Motives of revenge and sorrow supply a perfect setting for a chain of events led by the past scores. Hayamada, the restless hit man whose parents were murdered when he was small kid is hired by the young and emotionally damaged Miyuki. Miyuki asks Hayamada to kill her father's lover. However, Hayamada has his own scores to settle, as well. Hayamada's foster dad is also a well experienced hit man Maruyama. Throughout the movie, we get to know him and his apprentice Taneda, too.

Not only the story telling, but also casting is excellent. Masatoshi Nagase who once collaborated with Watanabe in Pistol Opera plays Hayamada. His performance in Loved Gun is as impressing as his portrayal of Ryosuke in Umi wa miteita (The Sea Is Watching). Aoi Miyazaki's portrayal of Miyuki is exceptional. She is so young and so talented that it is easy to say her future as an artist will be very bright. Ittoku Kishibe who plays Hayamada's foster dad has a familiar face. Many people will recognize the veteran actor from Kitano's Zatoichi. Hirofumi Arai appears as the young gangster Taneda and fulfills his position as a rising star. All of these actors accomplish their difficult tasks in the best way. So here comes an outstanding movie that is worth deep consideration.

Now that everyone knows Miyazaki is a great talent and he has been doing many great stuff, his earlier works are internationally popular. After Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, Miyazaki's well deserved fame got huge. Since his fame increased, his older works has been taken from the drawers to upper shelves and this is leading to discussions of which of his works are better than which. Kaze no tani no Naushika has been compared many times with his Mononoke - hime, however regarding how Naushika formed a perfect background for the further works of Miyazaki, this comparison is not very fair. Kaze no tani no Naushika is the basis of Miyazaki's charming mastery which becomes more and more apparent in 1990s. It features one of the greatest heroines in anime history in an unusual sci-fi environment. The story of the film shows us how resourceful human imagination can be. What makes Naushika a cornerstone is not only this efficient story telling but also the visual fiesta that it has been presented in. So lose no time in comparing this film to another, instead savor it again and again.