Kuro no tenshi Vol. 1

Black Angel is a film that represents the best of what Japanese contemporary cinema can be. It is that rare thing - an action movie that contains depth, character and intellect. The characters are all fully rounded, fleshed out and fallible. They are shades of grey, rather than black or white, and this ambivalence only lends to their realism. They even have to take time to recover after they receive a beating! It is a testament to Takashi that he can produce such empathy for these characters. His direction is polished and at times superb. One scene employs a single 8 minute take with no edits to emphasize the effect of relativity that the protagonist must be encountering on her fruitless attempts to escape and it is inspired. Takashi's trademark use of wide angle lenses is also at an apex in this movie, serving to enhance the effect of bodily movements while at the same time trapping the characters between the foreground and background, thereby outlining their plight (their lack of freedom is rooted in their desire to fulfil their destiny yet at the same time despising what they do). The violence is balletic and certainly tips it's hat to the Hong Kong heroic bloodshed movies of John Woo, et al but Takashi manages to make the set pieces his own by incorporating these formalistic camera techniques into realistic circumstances to draw the viewer into the world he has created. This is similar to Scorcese's "Raging Bull" where extremely formalistic techniques create a very realistic impression on the audience. The story deals with some familiar themes from Japanese cinema (revenge, rape, male-female power relations, etc...) and Takashi's use of motifs helps to relate the characters to one another and outline their connections. Even the title relates to the dichotomy facing our protagonist. The internal conflict of Ikko is mirrored by the external conflicts upon which she embarks. Black Angel is well conceived, well shot and well acted and deserves to be ranked among contemporary Japanese cinema's finest.

A nice memory of my teenage life when I saw this film on TV with my friends

Black Angel is very dark thrilling

But also exiting feeling, one didn't know what will happen for poor Ikko and her quest to find her identity or who killed her family.

But there are some awkward scenes and some scenes are too violent

but however there are some nice moment too, like when Ikko dance with her friend.

Bevare of some violent scenes for sensitive viewers but for those who love action films and thrillers is a must see

Indeed a nice vengeance flick, the director made it possible to make it interesting, stylish and very cold. The story is quite simple and not very fresh, but the style and strong violence (strong in my eyes cause it's against a woman) plus good camera work and very cold pictures make it a bit more special than a lot of the other Japanese movies. It reminds me of the earlier movie GONIN, witch is at any rate commendable if you liked the BLACK ANGEL and of course takeshi kitano). I've now seen a few of his films (ishii) and have to say that he's a good director in my eyes, but don't match to make every film interesting. I like his cold depressing style, but he's not a very good story teller. If you like the vengeance theme and the described style than you've got to check it out.

I don't know why so many people love flashy but empty Hong Kong action movies when there are much darker, more violent and interesting crime and horror movies over in Japan! Quentin Tarantino's brilliant 'Kill Bill' is inspired by much of this stuff, specifically Kinji Fukasaku's amazing 'Battle Royale' and Takashi Miike's mind-blowing 'Ichi The Killer', so I'm hoping that it signals the beginning of a lot more attention from Western audiences on the seemingly endless invention of the more extreme end of the Japanese film industry. The work of Takashi Ishii ('Evil Dead Trap' - as writer only - 'Gonin', 'Freezer') hasn't received as much attention as the more flamboyant and controversial Miike, but in his own way he's just as exciting. And while watching 'The Black Angel' I couldn't help but wonder if it was a favourite of Tarantino's. Babelicious Riona Hazuki plays Ikko who returns from the US to avenge her parents who were killed in front of her when she was a small girl. Mayo, a mysterious and beautiful assassin called The Black Angel (Reiko Takashima) helped her escape from Japan as a child, so now as an adult she borrows that name. Ikko is intent on killing yakuza boss Nogi, the man responsible for the death of her mother and father, only she doesn't realize that Mayo is now Nogi's (reluctant) mistress and that there meeting again is inevitable. 'The Black Angel' is an extremely cool movie. Ishii is a very inventive and original director who constantly surprises the viewer, moving from an unexpected light hearted dance number to a confronting torture sequence. His characters aren't cliched and predictable and you are always on your toes. I highly recommend this movie and his other yakuza thriller 'Gonin', another film which takes a familiar theme and subverts it in fascinating ways. Forget old hat John Woo and Jackie Chan, try the Takashis, Miike and Ishii!

I saw this movie at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival (like another IMDB user, apparently) and fell in love with it. I had already been charmed by Riona Hazuki in Parasite Eve, and was delighted to see her in this role. The characters of Zill (Dye-blonde blonde breakdance fighting companion) and Mayo (big time femme fatale with experience, guess what her name stands for) remind me of quirky one shot characters in a detective manga, something that translates surprizingly well to the big screen.

This is an action filled story about a girl seeking revenge for her family, but in parts comes off as more of a dark comedy. Takashi toys around with many old cliches, combining them with his original ideas to create a memorable mix of drama and humor. If you can find this movie, by all means see it... and send a copy my way.