Crying Freeman

Movie Review: Crying Freeman (1995)

Directed by Christopher Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf), Crying Freeman was the first live-action manga movie in history.

The seminal martial artist Mark Dacascos (Drive and Brotherhood of the Wolf) stars as Yo Hinimura, the latest in a line of executioners of the `Sons of the Dragons', an ancient Chinese group, originally founded to protect the Chinese people from danger and injustice, and still in practice today.

On one job when he is sent to kill the son of the leader of one of the Yakuza clans, a beautiful artist, painting the landscape, sees him skilfully executing the man and his bodyguards. Seeing him shedding tears after killing them, instead of being afraid she is captivated and drawn towards him. However, seconds after introducing himself, he disappears.

According to the laws of the Sons of the Dragons, since she has seen his face, she must be killed. But when Yo Hinimura, the freeman, cannot bring himself to kill her, they soon find themselves under fire from the Yakuza, the police, and even the Sons of the Dragons.

Crying Freeman delivers excellent action set pieces, as well as solid drama, but there are a few flaws. The director, Gans, often over-uses slow motion in the action scenes, which quickly becomes repetitive and detracts from the otherwise excellent action. Also, aside from Dacascos, who plays the character of Hinimura to perfection, the acting is occasionally mediocre and lacking emotion. In addition, Dacascos, one of the best martial artists in the world, is not given little chance to shine, although this is understandable, as why would an assassin resort to hand-to-hand combat when he has firearms and blades at his disposal.

Overall, Crying Freeman is an above-par movie. The Hong-Kong style action is very entertaining, and while the plot is neither original nor outstanding, it is still enjoyable. Although Gans later went on to make another movie with Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf), which is more polished, has a budget about ten times larger, and showcases Dacascos' skills as a martial artist much better, Crying Freeman is still definitely worth watching.

7/10

I thought that this movie was great. At first I was not sure whether this would be good because of Dacascos history of bad karate flicks in the past. After seeing this movie I have now become a fan of Mark Dacascos. If you want to see a beautiful movie watch CRYING FREEMAN.

This film received such an unfortunate review in my TV guide that I would not have chosen to watch it. I was sitting in bed with a book, completing the wearisome process of taking my medication when my partner changed channels. I said 'I know what this movie is' & provided him a synopsis. (He went to sleep.) I was hooked from the opening scenes on the cliff. The style of the film still seems somewhat simplistic but neverless has enormous impact. This film hits on a far deeper level than outright action. Perhaps it is the trapped feelings of the lead characters which forms the basis of interaction for the viewer. I still don't know but I find that I must buy the dvd. This film made me feel and that is so rare nowadays.

I hired this on video in the UK, and was so suprised to find what an excellent film this is, especially as I and everyone else seems never to have heard of it.

I have never seen the original Manga anime, nor am a big fan of the anime genre. However, I am very interest in oriental culture, and so probably more tolerant and open minded to such things than most people.

This film is awesomely slick, clear and crisp. To view it as only a film with violence is to watch it blindfolded. In fact the more I watch this film, the more I realize that there is not that much action, just that each sequence has a huge impact. Between the cool, elegant and well balanced cinematography and Gans's uncluttered and simple direction, the film draws the viewer through a beautiful, dark and rich world of a sino-japanese underworld. The film revolves around the traditional and formal world of the Japanese yakusa, and the dark and dedicated world of the chinese Triads, both playing for power. Without any understanding of either japanese or chinese culture this film might well be too remote for the casual viewer.

Strongest point of this film, is without doubt the cinematography. Superb composition, especially in the slow motion shots, the steralized mono-chrome of the yakusa/triads and the fantastic colours of the wonderful tattoos all contribute to a visually deep and absorbing experience.

I find many modern action films overly converluted and complicated little reason for being so other than they think they should. It was very refreshing seeing a plot that was simple and clean. The characters are well construed, if under-developed for many critics. But this has never been a problem for me, as I think a lot of films tell a story of events and the prying voyeurism of characterisation isnt needed. One of the nicest aspects, was the obvious nature of the 'crying' freeman. An assassin that is emotionally sympathetic to his victims, but who doesnt really understand it and partially sees it as a curse. This allows the main character to be softer and more human, without having to pile into the emotional struggles.

This was the first Marc Dacascos film I had seen, and was immensly impressed by him. His body movement is exceptionally elegant and he isnt challenged by the very dry exterior of the hitman. Sadly, I dont think he has been in anything nearly as good since.

All in all, Christophe Gans crafted an excellent and entertaining film. He brings us neo-zen, clinical beauty in magnificent depth. The slick style and soft characters beat anything that Jon Woo has done.

(P.S. Am a big john woo fan, so hate to dis him. But must be said that gans hasnt produced anything of similar quality since again... but here's hoping for a sequel sometime)

As a Korean, I am very surprised to see how well foreigners understand the special culture of Chinese and Japan.

The idea that some Buddhists established an legendary organization and trained a legendary assassin called "freeman" and whenever China was in trouble, the organization helped to avoid or overcome the trouble situations. so it was given respect by Chinese is to come from the traditional chivalry story of China. in fact, the movie "First of Legend" acted by "Jet li" has the same context with this. "Crying Freeman" also reflects the culture of Yakuza Organization in Japan well. for example, Yakuzas like to have a dragon tattooed upon their bodies and if the boss died, the successor married the boss' wife. and so on.

I felt as if I was seeing the movie produced by Chinese or Japanese. and I could enjoy it even more interestingly than other foreign movies.