Anrakkî monkî

Honestly...I don't know what the hell this film was about. It took me three sittings to get through it, and although it started off strong, it went in so many different directions, I couldn't really make heads or tails of it...

Some dude robs a bank (against his better judgement...) and ends up accidentally stabbing a chick in the process. From here on out, we follow this guy around, intertwining with other parallel tales of some Yakuza members, environmental actionists, and some other stuff...

I was really feelin' this one in the beginning as an off-beat, dark-comedy, but then it got slow and too serious, and then weird again - and reminds me of what I don't like about Japanese films - they're oftentimes too quirky to get anything from. At times, UNLUCKY MONKEY is down-right funny, at other times stone-cold-sober. At about the half-way point, I just lost interest. Not a bad film per se...but I've gotten to the point that I'm getting pretty burned out from pretty much everything currently coming out of Japan at this point...6.5/10

we are all just unlucky monkeys, bouncing from one strange situation into another. and that´s just what happens in the movie, sabu (monday) takes us on an bizarre tour de force, starting with a bank-robbery... go watch this movie, if possible. i think you won´t be disappointed.

This is basically imitation Tarantino. So, if you like that kind of thing, you might want to sit through this. There are, in fact, a couple of laugh-out-loud moments that arise from very dark situations. But, otherwise, very slow moving - lots of filler because he doesn't have enough story to fill two hours - and no strong links to reality. This is allegory all the way, although I'm not sure what the point of it might be. One difference from Tarantino: the main character does feel an acute sense of remorse and that becomes a major thread near the end. Recommended only if you're intensely interested in modern cinema from Japan.

I find this film fascinating for several reasons.Its the only Sabu film with social conscience,for one.Then,its the film where the human is shown from the darkest point of view,without the unnecessary violence.There is some violence,but its not graphic nor without reason. The dream scene is one of the deepest and best I have seen and it stuck inside me as well as the ending(and I hope it did with others too).

The ending is a bit hard to understand for some.Why does the dead man rise?Why does Tsutsumi's character so desperately try to end his life?Maybe because he has seen more than others and knows that this society is going towards the end.Its disturbing I know and thats why this film is so precious to me.Sabu cared,thats why he made it.This is not just another of his mad stories with weird plots and a sad ending.

The ending I don't find really sad and thats another reason why I love it.He found relief.What I found sad and heavy to watch is the scene where he wanders through the filthy streets and knows that he is truly lost.The beginning gives you an insight to why he really is lost.He tried to commit that robbery because it was a chance for him to get a better life.Maybe he wanted to move away from all that.And then found himself stuck right in the middle of it all.Its the last tale of human hell and the desperate road to redemption.Sabu,you really are a master. Shinichi Tsutsumi became my favorite actor after this film.He really is a special talent and a gift to Japan's film industry.I hope he will have a long and fruitful career.Without him,this film wouldn't be what it is,a Dante-ish tour de force.

I saw this movie a few days ago, but the memories have already kind of faded. Therefore I guess that it wasn't such a memorable experience as it seemed to be during the time of watching it.

The opening sequence, where a bag of money changes hands several times in an elegantly choreographed series of accidents is probably the best scene of the movie in my eyes.

After that, it wasn't really clear to me whether I was watching a comedy, a yakuza crime flick or a splatter film.

The movie in itself has several parallel storylines that crisscross from time to time, nothing unusual, mixed with the Japanese way of hinting at emotions very blatantly, in itself nothing unusual either, but the constant shifting between comedy, crime, philosophy and gore was a bit too inconsistent for my taste.

However, if you like Japanese movies based around the topics Yakuza, Identity-Loss, Action and Slapstick, you might wanna give it a try.

6/10