Ray Pride

Here's the real kill-thrill: the ridiculously prolific Takashi Miike's "Ichi the Killer" tops even his "Audition" for slashingly stylized mayhem. Based upon Hideo Yamamoto's serialized manga "Koroshiya 1," it's a morality tale--about revenge--with all-star bad guys. Be warned: there's stomach-churning torture involving, but not limited to, kung fu, pins and needles, razor blades, and rivers of crimson, the brilliant geysers of rush that Quentin Tarantino claims to be re-purposing in the lugubrious magpie posturing of "Kill Bill." I'm not sure I know why I find Miike's anxious voice more compelling that Tarantino's. Maybe it's because his characters seem to be, rather than try. In a neon ghetto of Tokyo, there's a complex called Yakuza Mansion. A Yakuza boss disappears and his underlings seek revenge, including the masochistic Kakirhara, played by the serene Tadanobu Asano (Oshima's "Taboo"; the upcoming "Last Life on Earth"). One of the scarified Kakihara's set-pieces involves a gangster suspended from the ceiling, whose tattooed back is studded with acupuncture needles and then treated to an improvised torture using shabu-shabu cooking techniques. Like many of 43-year-old Miike-san's movies, "Ichi" alternates violence with dolorously inventive visual poetry. Too much? Enter Ichi the Killer, who can inflict the same pain that Kakihara metes and desires. With directors Sabu and Shinya Tsukamoto ("Tetsuo").

"Ichi the Kiiller" opens Friday at Facets.

(2003-10-22)

Also by Ray Pride

Tip of the Week
While documentary is one of the great hopes of contemporary storytelling, not enough attention has yet been paid in the U.S. to traditions in other countries
(2003-10-16)

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Mark Decena's "Dopamine" is a modest but impressive and memorable story of love in the modern world
(2003-10-16)

Precious moments
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(2003-10-16)

Short Runs
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(2003-10-16)

Tip of the Week
(2003-10-08)

Thrill kill
(2003-10-08)

An imperfect world
(2003-10-08)

Chicago International Film Festival
(2003-10-08)

Short Runs
(2003-10-08)

Short Runs
(2003-10-02)

Chicago International Film Festival
(2003-10-02)

Back in Black
(2003-10-02)

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