Gozu

The synopsis on the DVD case compares it to something in the style of David Lynch. I would agree with that. It's definitely a surreal and strange movie. I would not rank it as high as Ichi the Killer or Audition , both of which I loved. This is Takishi Miike doing what he does best, trying to shock people but I think he's trying too hard with this movie at times to the point where it gets boring. The movie seems to loose itself in it's own strangeness at times but overall it's accomplishes what it's out to accomplish.

This movie is a nice piece of artistic filmaking and I must say that it actually made me much more uncomfortable then Ichi or Audition especially the last 30 mins or so.....watch it and you'll know what I mean.

Overall, if you are a Miike fan or a fan of David Lynch or that style of film-making then you'll appreciate this movie. If you have seen this and have not seen Ichi the Killer or Audition, do yourself a favor and go out and rent or buy those.

Another unique outing by Takeshi Miike. Way off the wall. A yakuza soldier finds himself searching for his brother (possibly dead) in a town full of lunatics and cow-headed demons. Weird Buddhist and Freudian symbols abound. One can't help but draw comparisons to David Lynch's work -- in particular Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive. I think Miike has admitted as much himself. Highly imaginative filmmmaking. My only complaint is the pacing. It's way slow for like the first hour. I had the same problem with Audition. I can appreciate the patient construction of a creepy mood, but I think Miike could step on the gas every now and then. Still, I recommend this one. It's quite a trip. There's also a fair dose of tongue-and-cheek humor in this film. (I guess it depends on one's sense of humor.)

Dog-lovers will delight in the opening scene.

If this is your first dive into the realm of Takashi Miike, STOP. GO BACK. REMOVE THIS MOVIE FROM YOU DVD PLAYER. You have to start somewhere less obscure than this movie. You can start out with Audition (or one of the Dead or Alive movies), follow that up with Happiness of the Katakuris and then either Ichi the Killer or Visitor Q. Once you have seen that, then you are ready to savor the flavor of this movie. To try to describe this movie would do the movie and you, the reader, an injustice. This movie just has to be watched and experienced. What can you expect from Gozu ?? Yakuzas. Killer Yakuza attack dogs. Lots of driving. Transvestites. Breast milk. Seance. Horse cropping. Sex. Birth. Ladles. The plot is based on the adventures of a yakuza made-man (Ozaki) and his underling (Minami). Ozaki is going crazy and the Boss has ordered Minami to take care of him. From there on you'll just have to watch to get the point (if there is one). As compared to his other movies, this one doesn't really have much of a story. The sheer obscureness or strangeness (and/or dark comedy) holds the various events together, linking them into a movie. At the same time, you are sitting there waiting to see how much more bizarre things can get. The movie passed by pretty quickly, with little slowdown. Fans of Miike should definitely see this movie. For everyone else, see the movie at your risk.

-Celluloid Rehab

i did not know anything about Miike when i saw Gozu. i read about Gozu in a magazine randomly and it sounded like something i had to see. then i waited a few weeks until it was in the theatres here. i told my fellow David Lynch fan officemate "hey, here is this movie which sounds cool, i think we both need to see this".

so we went. afterwards we left the theatre in a state of amazement. we had seen and enjoyed "weird" movies all our lives, Lynch, Cronenberg, whatever. we both enjoyed surrealism in general. even so, Gozu was really a peak experience.

but you can't just be weird for the sake of weird... is Gozu good? definitely. it is well-made, beautiful,... and it speaks to a deep visceral part at times. and then turn ridiculous and made you laugh... but even in the weirdest movies you have seen, there is probably more linearity and perhaps some symbolism you can conjure up. i think with Gozu, the way to see it is, just watch and let it take you. open your mind a little more than usual. otherwise i don't know what effect this movie can have on someone. for me, it was very significant. i immediately went and saw it again the next night (which was the last night it was playing) and my appreciation grew.

Miike is amazing. very talented director. good use of sound as well as the great visuals everyone talks about. i am looking forward to more of his work.

The reason black comedy really isn't funny anymore is because all modern black comedies just repeat the same jokes. Though Gozu isn't going to have you laughing on your first viewing, it definitely will have you laughing in shock when you look back post-viewing, after everything comes together. Gozu isn't really hard to understand, it isn't complex, but it certainly isn't forgettable. If anything, it's set up a lot like a sick version of The Wizard of Oz: a straight path, with the lead character meeting eccentric secondary characters that help him along until he reaches the final solution to his problem. While this seems simplistic, it's impossible to not notice Takashi Miike's stunning originality throughout. While most Asian horror is riddled with cliché ghosts and evil mothers, Takashi Miike proves here that he is not only the most original Asian director out there, but one of the most original directors working in the industry today. And I think Gozu may be his masterwork.

I'm personally sick of movies that claim to be a mind trip, filled with "weird" ideas that turn out to be nothing but cliché mentions of time travel and every other genetic idea. I could list names of these films—Donnie Darko, 12 Monkeys, etc.—but the point is, weird isn't weird anymore in modern cinema. If you were been born and raised on The Twilight Zone like I was, all these movies are as generic as average spy thrillers. Gozu, however, may be one few films to come out post-2000 that I can honestly call weird. And, believe me, that is a good thing. Instead of rehashing tired clichés, Gozu brings the viewer to placed they've never even thought of before. The opening instructs the viewer not to "take anything seriously—it's all a joke", and the punch line has to be one of the most bazaar endings in cinema history. It's terrifying and genuinely grotesque, as well as hilarious. Everything in this movie is stuff writers/directors would sit around and joke about, but never, EVER, have the balls to actually film. That's what makes the story behind Gozu so refreshing and truly original. I can't believe I'm actually writing that final line in a review.

Miike's directing is stylish, as always. He knows how to set up a scene and inflict a terrifying mood. The entire film takes itself so deadpan seriously, and though that would usually be a fatal blow to most movies, Miike makes it work here. Somehow. Whenever a major plot point happens, it's done so flawlessly it's impossible not to be immersed in the moment.

So why didn't I give Gozu a perfect score? Because as much as I loved it, the movie needed to be shortened. Do not get me wrong: I love Miike's slow dialogue as much as I love his balls-to-the-wall action, but here it gets a little overbearing. Characters sit and stare at things without any purpose, and while it works, it's just not entertaining at all. The movie could have been shortened by at least 20 minutes, and if it had been, it would have been near perfection. Also, a few scenes became very repetitious and even mildly annoying. What I mean to say is, although the story is amazing, Gozu lacks a lot of entertainment value.

Overall, though, despite its flaws, Gozu is not forgettable. It's hard for me to remember a time when I would pop in a DVD and actually remember what I watched by the next morning. In a world of cheap carbon copies plots and cheesy horror elements, Gozu seems almost like perfection, even though it really isn't. But I have no room to complain. I'd take this over another black-haired-ghost-girl-evil-mother-terrorist-time-travel movie ANY DAY.

7/10