Samehada otoko to momojiri onna

I'm on a journey. Next stop: Asanoland.

Seriously. After undergoing an experience called Survival Style 5+, I decided to peruse Tadanobu-san's cinema library. Having seen Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl, I began to recall the story, but enjoyed the minute details, random Japanese cultural references, and a mix of really eccentric characters.

This ain't no gunfest. If you want bodies and shells hitting the floor, catch Hard Boiled. SSM+PHG shows you people in a moment in time what happens when they interact. Asano as Samehada oozes the 'segoy' yakuza with style to match! He rarely panics, acts quickly, and even has time to joke and laugh. Along with the reserved Toshiko, the story revolves mainly around this unlikely duo. You also have yakuza whose topics of interest include rare ad collecting, glue sniffing, and, of course.... finding Samehada.

This film's fun to watch. If you are going in expecting to see all out sawed off shotgun blasts, drive-bys, and opium plants exploding, it's not going to happen. This gangsta movie has a dark, comedic flavor which you may find yourself becoming fond of. Plus, it's a good starter to see the talented Tadanobu at work.

My main impression with this movie is that something, somehow, has got lost on the way.

It might be that the script has been adapted from a manga; some situations and some of the characters antics, dragged out from their context, look so wacky they end to be grotesque. Nonetheless, one of the strongest point of the movie are the characters themselves - Yamada in particular.

The plot is the weakest one, it doesn't really make sense and I ended up suspecting that some elements has been simply cut because they didn't fit in the run time.

However, I've seen this movie in Japanese with subtitles, so I really can't comment about the "witty dialogs" which are supposed to be another strong point.

This movie is occasionally entertaining, but fails to leave a mark: it reminded me somehow of "I Went Down" (1997), which is definitely more entertaining than this one, tough.

Kimie Shingyouji is amazing as is Tadanobu Asano and Shie Kohinata. Brilliant film, great performances. A quirky classic and a precursor to films such as Kill Bill, though the film was surely inspired by Pulp Fiction first.

Sharkskin Man... makes me want to go back to the French New Wave again. It is cinematic ally liberating, fresh yet retro, new and exciting.

Seijun Suzuki is another filmmaker that has accomplished something similar I think, with Pistol Opera, the re-make of his own "Branded to Kill," made 35 years prior.

Kohinata's performance is nothing short of perfect. She is a true star and I love her work. This film should be mandatory viewing.

I give Sharkshin Man and Peachhip Girl the highest rating possible for originality and entertainment value as well as a great ensemble cast and innovative script.

A man called Samehada ("Shark Skin") steals some money from his Yakuza boss, and goes on the run. He crosses paths with a girl called Momojiri ("Peach Hip", or "Peach Ass" if you prefer) who is fleeing from a hotel manager who doesn't treat her well. They decide to throw their fortunes in together and try to escape the Yakuza and an assassin.

The credit sequence introduces you to the cast of the characters you are about to meet, and it was very worrying... so many characters, I thought "it's going to get real confusing", but this is not the case at all. Even though there are a lot of characters, each one is well developed and unique - no problem following who they are and what their relationships are. It's one hell of a set of characters too... "colourful" hardly seems sufficiently descriptive, but they are all brilliantly conceived and portrayed. The main focus of the movie is the interplay between all these characters, with lots of sharp and witty dialogue throughout, and a generally black humour in the situations they get into and the way they get out of them.

The movie is fast moving... very well paced in fact, and beautifully filmed & edited too. There's a little bit of violence, but nothing that's going the slightest concern to anybody who's seen some Kitano or Miike. Almost wholesome in fact

It's difficult to say what makes the movie so good - it's not really any one thing - it's basically just an all-round clever, funny and exceptionally well made movie. Recommended!

Didn't think much while I was watching the show but the images and themes have come back strongly after. Yes, Sharkskin Man is a movie that I have not been able to get out of my mind. Part comedy, part Action-Adventure, part Fashion Parade, this film boasts of an incredibly hip cast with strong (in a subtle way) performances from the 2 leads. A highly entertaining movie that is as bizarre (if you've been watching commercial movies all your life) as it is romantic. Yes, ROMANTIC.