Pisutoru opera

This is one of the best films ever made. An intense fever dream of surrealism, dream logic, and a beautiful painter's touch. I've never seen any other films that could straight-up be called "avantgarde action"; I wish there were more films like this...

What really strikes me are the colors, though the story (which is relatively straightforward; ignore the other reviews) is one extremely philosophical, awesomely existential dilemma after another.

Brilliant in every way a movie can be. Masterpiece. Hated by the same people who hate Izo and El Topo (aka people who can't wrap their head around true brilliance).

Don't understand how ANYONE could hate on this film, even if they didn't "get it" all. The visuals alone are reason enough to see this.

A series of pleasurable moments full of colors and cartoonish acting with awesome costumes and offbeat characters. Did you get the hint? The story's full of symbolism and artsyfartsy poop that won't sit well on a mainstream menu.

Not that Tetsuo the Iron-man and Pistol Opera director Seijun have the same class, but the titles Bullet Ballet and Pistol Opera just show that there must be a link between the minds of these two discontinuous narrators.

I like the lead actress, so I am biased, and I like kimonos so I am biased, and I like colorful movies, so I am biased, and I like symbolic films so I am biased, and I like discontinuous narratives, so I am biased, and I am Japanese, so I am biased: I liked the movie.

I first saw the preview for Pistol Opera on several Japanese DVDs I had the pleasure of viewing. It was the vivid imagery that captured my attention not to mention a very attractive leading lady. Now what followed was an amazing journey through the world of Stray Cat, a hired gun with a love for her pistol, engaged (reluctantly at first)in a competition to be #1 among the top gunslingers. Simple enough, right? WRONG!!!! What follows is a film that keeps your fingers on the rewind button, your mouth wide open and your eyes ready to bug out of your skull. A simple skeleton of a plot is covered with layers of sexuality (subtle, and in your face), violence, and just a whole bunch of WTF (WT is for "What The" you can figure the rest out) moments. I enjoyed it in the same way that we all have our guilty pleasures, but I will admit that some of the scenes and displays may go beyond past limits you may have set for yourself. Viewer Discretion is ADVISED!!

If ya like colors, this is the flick for you! So all you lame-o b&w Orson Welles fans who are looking for cinematic architecture and intellectual substance, go away!

Ok sarcasm aside, this is truly an enjoyable film... if you like colors. If you like to be bombarded with surreal images and bizarre plot leaps, such as characters being dead one minute, alive the next, and basically existing in an incomprehensible dream world which ends with the words "wtf" on everyone's lips, then this film will wow you.

Me personally, I liked it, but I liked it the same way I like an opera (literally an opera, get it?) where the point is to enjoy the artistry of the presentation rather than any type of storytelling.

Compare this to maybe some of Andy Worhol's experimental work, though not quite as self indulgent as an 8 hour still camera on the Empire State Building. Maybe closer to something by David Lynch, Peter Greenaway or Tarkovsky... BUT (and this is a "big butt" of Peewee Hermanian proportions), what makes it interesting is a dark comic, tongue-in-cheek sort of self mockery which keeps the film from seeming too pretentious.

So imagine all those "pretentious" filmmakers I just mentioned, but add a heavy splash of Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction"), mix vigorously and of course add lots of bloomin COLORS. Have you seen the infamous Monkees film "Head"? There ya go

Suzuki Seijun is a master of craft, and one of the greatest visual stylists ever. This film is a loose reworking of Branded to Kill, the jakuza clasic that marked the end of his career at Nikkatsu studios, whom Suzuki was a contract director. That film took many risks in narrative and presentation, and it was post modern before post modern became chic.

Before you complain about why you don't understand this film, just look at it less in terms of narrative and more in terms of the abstract. It's a spectacle of sight and sound, and one of the most beautifully shot movies in recent times. The photography alone is reason enough to see it.

This is a film that does not bother to explain it's convoluted story because it's very design DOES NOT warrant that path. It's cinematic style brings to mind elements of Kabuki and opera theater. The performances are mannered and exagerated, something that is understandibly strange if you are not japanese.

All in all, it's a film devoid of anything rational and a spectacle of sight and sound. A 10.