Retribution

This is not your typical j-horror. There are no bloody murders, no nudity, and you really have to contemplate everything to figure it out. It requires and investment that most horror aficionados would be loathe to do.

Kôji Yakusho (Babel, and the original and much better Shall We Dance?) is Yoshioka, a detective that is investigating a murder, and he finds clues that point to him as the killer. He is visited by a ghost of the victim (Riona Hazuki) and he is going crazy because he can't figure what he did wrong. Even after they find her killer, she still haunts him.

Repetitive occurrences and talk indicate that they may be clues to the mystery - frequent earthquakes, all the victims were drowned in salt water (including one in a tub), the preoccupation with the ferry from 15 years ago, and the constant talk of tearing down and rebuilding along the coast.

These things keep occurring, but they don't bring you any closer to the truth.

Manami Konishi, as Yoshioka's girlfriend was a pleasurable presence, as well as an excellent actress.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa certainly knows how to tell a ghost story.

This really is another masterpiece in a gathering of work that puts so many American mainstream horror directors to shame.

A rich tale of longing and unrequited desire, summed in an intensely satisfying, and beautiful prose. Delicate, yet overwhelming at times. Smart and distracting, like the written lines of Haruki Murakami, filled with lynchesque overtones. It reminded me of Miike doing Izo, in its expertise in skipping genre and time planes to find its core story. I loved this movie. I know it is clique, but I laughed, I cried. I jumped out of the seat of my pants!!!

For a lover of Kurosawa, this is a must!

Kyoshi Kurosawa is a talented but maybe too prolific director. Since the early 90's, he had almost directed 30 movies. No wonder that, when Takashige Ichise, the master producer of J-Horror ("Ring", "The Grudge") asks him to direct one of the Jap-Horror trilogy movie along with Hideo Nakata and Shimizu, you get a little feeling of "Déjà-vu" in front of his new movie : "Sakebi" (Retribution).

Of course, there's still lots of excellent ideas in the movie, and some parts are majestically directed : all the ghosts apparitions are really beautiful, and the movie take there and then an experimental approach in their representation. It almost looks like a modern art installation. Some shots are also really well thought, as the one of the interrogation of a suspect, filmed in continuation, with the help of a mirror in the back in order to create a double space. But the most original aspect of the movie is the depiction of the modern Tokyo, witch doesn't look modern at all. In the movie, the city looks like a post-war town, everything is rotten and lugubre, there's nobody in the dark streets. You don't often see such a representation of Japan, far from the clichés of the ultra-modern society it's supposed to be.

But the problem is that all this was ultimately in others Kurosawa's movies, as if he wanted to offer a sort of best-of his previous works here. His style haven't change, and the story isn't really surprising for any "Kaïro"'s spectator. This lack of surprise leads to a feeling of boringness, and I couldn't get out of my mind, after the movie, the idea that it was clearly unoriginal (for a Kurosawa's movie, of course) and a little bit too long (maybe cutting 20 minutes of the movie would have been a good thing).

But all in all, this movie is a good introduction to his tormented universe, and for those who already know it, well, a new Kyoshi Kurosawa's movie certainly comes out in 3 months.

Koji Yakusho's portrayal of Detective Noboru Yoshioka, develops a character who is unimaginably stoic. This is clearly represented whenever his girlfriend Harue (Manami Konishi) leaves for work, his reply being less than satisfactory, and more of a grunt, conveying a sense of lacking appreciation. This is one such theme maintained over the course of the feature, as is paranoia, selfishness and lack of control, Noboru equally showing his character to be easily frustrated and quick to anger, which is especially heightened due to the situation he is immediately thrust into. An unidentifiable woman in a red dress is murdered during the film's opening - drowned in a pool of sea water, several pieces of evidence located around the scene implicating Noboru himself as the culprit. Fellow detective Toru (Tsuyoshi Ihara) additionally suspects Noboru, though his rush to judgement appears illogical for a skilled officer of the law, who, rather than ruling out other possible scenarios, is quick to blame a man who he has served beside for an unprecedented number of years, this aspect of the plot appearing to have been inserted in an attempt to intensify the atmosphere, however, the reckless handling of his suspicion ultimately collapses.

Not long after the murder, Noboru begins to be haunted by a woman matching the description of the unidentified victim. Riona Hazuki as the ghost is disturbingly efficient, her vapory voice, stone faced expression and stiff, almost zombie-like movements immersing viewers during the moments of her appearance. The red dress she wears is incredibly eye-catching, and the use of bland environments accentuates the audience taking notice. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa heightens this suspense with his style, the camera often capturing Ms. Hazuki's face in either a partial shot, to increase mystery and intent, or a close-up, her accusatory expression burning a hole through the screen. If she were to creep any closer, she would probably jump right out of the television - thankfully the film isn't in 3D, else I personally may have wet my pants.

The effectiveness of the ghost's portrayal is however slighted by the director's vision. Although unique, the fact she is corporeal, rather than transparent, and because of this, often employs the function of a door, rather than simply gliding through objects, seems almost strange, this peculiarity being heightened by the addendum that she has a habit of taking off like Super-Man. It is, furthermore, difficult to ascertain whether she is deserving of our sympathy, or if she is presumably an antagonist, the director affording the audience choice in this regard.

As more bodies begin to appear, killed in a similar fashion to the initial victim, the threat of a serial killer plagues largely on the minds of the police, and for some, only heightens the suspicion around Noboru's character. Despite his continued insistence that he is not complicit in the crimes after been accused by the ghost herself, Noboru begins to investigate his past, the film richly developing the notion of forgetfulness through use of the environment, especially urban redevelopment projects, and the idea that the buried past is lost to the present day, an idea further suggested by Harue's character. Japan itself is positioned during the film as a continuously evolving entity, the frequent tumultuous earthquakes, matching the unsettling inexplicable nature of the murders, not to mention the narrative's climate.

Many instances in the film are provided limited explanation: how Noboru is able locate other potential suspects, alongside random pieces of evidence after driving around for a few minutes is simply astounding, as is another sub-plot, in which the smell of a decomposing corpse is not enough to notify the inhabitant of the residence that they are sharing a house with the deceased. What is perhaps most frustrating of all is the lacking information provided in regards to characters. Noboru and the woman in red are provided just enough of a back-story to ensure the plot progresses, however, the lacking substance forbids a deeper understanding or emotional connection. Even the accusatory remarks about her death, despite been interesting, are seldom provided adequate reinforcement. The same argument could be potentially made about the modus operandi of the murders, which seems very convenient after having been provided a bland explanation. Despite this, the film accurately shows how people interpret the world, and what was a miniscule moment for one person, can be life changing for someone else.

The conclusion, which is obviously meant to shock viewers with a sudden revelation, due to the aforementioned lack of detail, is neither surprising nor impacting, and despite subtle hints being employed during the feature that mutually come together at the end, more depth is needed to position audiences to be legitimately grounded in the story of Retribution. Moreover, the interpretative and contradictory end, rather than suspending viewers in excitement, or terror, simply suspends them in a sea of questions - a testament to the film's inability to adequately provide answers. Despite exhibiting some similarity with the movie Cure, Retribution remains interestingly mysterious. However, all mysteries, to be effective, need to be adequately solved - this is largely not the case here.

You know you're getting something special and unusual when watching a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie. Reason why I often like his movies so much is because they always start of as something formulaic and you're sure the movie will be heading in a certain direction but then suddenly it will completely turn around and the movie and its story start taking an unexpected approach.

The movie pretty much starts off as a thriller, in which the police is hunting down a supposed serial killer. But it soon starts to become apparent that there actually is far more going on and the movie takes a more horror-like turn.

But please don't watch this movie expecting a typical Japanese horror flick, with scare moments and such. This movie is anything but typical and it's just not really a straight-forward horror flick. It's more subtle and clever with its story and build-up. Some people might find it too slow but those were probably expecting this movie to be a more typical Japanese horror flick.

It's really a movie that is heavy on its build-up. It can definitely get hard to follow and understand at times but this is basically always the case with a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie. They allow you to think and interpret certain scenes and moments in your own way. Lots is always being left up to your own interpretation, so also don't expect the movie to just hand you all of the questions or to give a clear explanation of everything at the end.

It's really a very well directed movie, that also focuses heavily on its visuals. It's a real fine looking movie, with nice cinematography and some great settings got picked, for the movie its story. Kiyoshi Kurosawa is also an horror director who often uses special effects for his movies. It's always very well incorporated into his films and all serves a purpose within the style and story of the movies, as is also the case with this movie.

Really a movie you have to experience for yourself.

8/10

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