Matt Cooper Films

Gonin (1995) by Takashi Ishii

Five men attempt to escape the brutal vengeance of the Yakuza after stealing 100 million yen from them. Club owner Bandai (Koichi Sato) is in debt to the Yakuza who come to his club to harrass him. He recruits knife-weidling fraudster Mitsuya (Masahiro Motoki), ex-detective Hizu (Jinpachi Nezu), violent tearaway Jimmy (Kippei Shiina), and an unemployed salaryman (Naoto Takenaka), all of whom either have monetary worries or a vendetta against the Yakuza, in a daring raid on the offices of the group. Following their heist, the Yakuza hire two hitmen, played by Takeshi Kitano and Kazuya Kimura, to find the men responsible.

Written and directed by Takashi Ishii, “Gonin” is a stylish crime thriller with a great cast of central characters. The slight backstories give us enough to sympathise with them, through their planned robbery and the merciless hunting of them that follows. This group of anti-heroes all have their own peculiarities and the film lets us see the psychological turmoil they are going through. The early part of the film takes its time to establish their circumstances, which makes the final third even more thrilling as we watch their attempts to escape the hitmen that have been assigned to kill them. The film’s oppressive noir atmosphere is perfectly encapsulated in the various night-scenes and shootouts in the pouring rain. This is a world that is awash with violence, drugs, avaricious mobsters, and brutal repercussions and the superb score by Goro Yasukawa underlines the tensions and tragedy of those involved.

“Gonin” presents the image of a deeply depressing world, where no deed goes unpunished. The senseless violence drives home the point that any involvement with the criminal underworld is likely to end poorly, whatever your intentions. Violence begets violence and the cycle continues. The film also forefronts homosexuality, with both the protagonists and antagonists, which nods to the idea that heroes and villains are distinguished only by their actions. The final shot of the film also highlights this duality in man and we are left to wonder what will become of a world in which violence is permitted to flourish.

Matt Cooper Films

Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t (1992) by Masayuki Suo

Failing University student Shuhei Yamamoto (Masahiro Motoki) is asked by his supervisor Anayama (Akira Emoto) to join the sumo club in exchange for letting him graduate. The only other member of the club Aoki (Naoto Takenaka) begins to train Shuhei, and the two recruit several new members: the plus-sized and socially awkward Tanaka (Hiromasa Taguchi), Shuhei’s popular younger brother Haruo (Masaaki Takarai), and English overseas student ‘Smiley’ (Robert Hoffman). Top student Natsuko (Misa Shimizu) uses her marketing skills to promote the club and bring more attention to them. Despite being a complete disaster in their first event, the group decide to work hard and attempt to compete properly in future tournaments.

“Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t”, written and directed by Masayuki Suo, follows the typical set-up for underdog sports stories, with a motley band of characters coming together to overturn incredible odds. There are a few laughs to be had, such as Aoki’s problems with a dippy stomach before bouts, and the hapless team’s underwhelming performance at their initial trial, but unfortunately the script is sparse and the time mostly filled with sumo competitions. More could have been done with the characters but they remain little more than caricatures. It’s not that a comedy needs character development, but the film is also lacking in engaging material, meaning that as things progress it becomes a chore to watch.

It is hard to find too much to say about ‘Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t’ that couldn’t be said of any sports drama involving a unlikely group of athletes triumphing against the odds. We have lessons on the value of teamwork; the joy of overcoming arrogant opponents with unconventional tactics; and mildly amusing training montages. It is good to see the focus on the traditional Japanese sport of sumo, but the film repeatedly misses opportunities to develop humorous material about the various unusual rituals associated with it. An innocuous enough sporting drama that fails to capitalise on its potential.

Matt Cooper Films

Hiruko the Goblin (1991) by Shinya Tsukamoto

An archaeologist and a schoolboy must fight a subterranean terror in this B-movie fantasy horror. While investigating an underground cave, Professor Yabe (Naoto Takenaka) and schoolgirl Tsukishima (Megumi Ueno) unwittingly awaken an ancient monster, which decapitates its victims, using their heads as part of its form. Yabe’s friend Professor Hieda (Kenji Sawada) and his son Masao (Masaki Kudo) find themselves battling against this monster, which now has the face of Masao’s former crush Tsukishima. The two are in a race against time to destory the creature and seal the site under the school before there is a mass invasion of them.

Director Shinya Tsukamoto, who rose to fame with his cyberpunk body-horror cult favourite “Tetsuo”, takes on a more traditional horror fare in “Hiruko the Goblin”, based on the “Yokai Hunter” manga by Daijiro Morohashi. The plot is wafer thin, with heroes fighting an inexplicable supernatural threat, but enlivened with some fun side-characters such as Watanabe the janitor (Hideo Murota) who is tasked with defending the school, and the way in which the monsters steal the heads of their victims, creating a sense of terror when Masao and Hieda are forced to face former friends (now transformed into hideous creatures). The film’s practical special effects, including stop-motion, lends the film a hand-made B-movie feel that is in keeping with the shaky plot. The monster design is unique, with arachnid style legs scuttling around with human faces, and their speed and agility is quite horrifying to witness. The film also features some interesting elements with the creatures’ ability to influence the thoughts of its prey, forcing them to reveal information or commit suicide. For the most part a straightforward horror, the film also leans heavily into its fantasy elements, with prophecies, ancient rites, and a quest for a crown in the goblin lair. The soundtrack also straddles both horror and fantasy genres, with ominous notes and a light, plaintive melody sung by the Tsukishima monster suggestive of the Siren song of Greek mythology.

A fun, fantasy horror with a unique monster terrrorizing the protagonists. “Hiruko the Goblin” doesn’t shy away from shock moments but with a fast-paced action style. Fans of low-budget horror special effects will find much to enjoy here too.

Matt Cooper Films

The Perfect Education (1999) by Ben Wada

18-year old schoolgirl, Kuniko (Hijiri Kojima), is kidnapped by a 43 year old man in this crime thriller. After being taken to her captor Iwazono’s (Naoto Takenaka) house, Kuniko is told that he doesn’t want to rape her, rather to groom her into a perfect sexual partner. His intention is to experience a true love and perfect sex, connecting body and mind. Kuniko is understandably disturbed by his behaviour but appears to slowly grow closer to him.

Based on a novel by Michiko Matsuda, with a screenplay by Kaneto Shindo, “The Perfect Education” is a curious film, owing a debt to Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita” in its theme. The film begins as a thriller, but soon develops into a relationship drama, with a battle of wits between Kuniko and Iwazono. Kuniko often commands him, goads him, denigrates him, while Iwazono appears as a pathetic figure, apologetic and more of a voyeur than a real threat. He tells Kuniko early on that he will cut her if she tries to leave, but she has soon manipulated him into getting her whatever she wants, taking her on holiday, and buying her new clothes. The uncomfortable subject matter is brilliantly utilised with excellent direction, by Ben Wada, and cinematography, often leading to conflicting feelings in the audience as we watch the power struggle between these two characters. Early on we see deep, ominous shadows in Iwazono’s apartment, later replaced by brighter settings, including on their holiday to an onsen resort. The various occupants of Iwazono’s apartment block provide comic relief, again creating an slightly disturbing tone by puncturing the tense drama happening in their same residence. The classical score likewise emphasises this strange disconnect and drift between light and dark, with an often uplifting, even romantic accompaniment to Kuniko and Iwazono’s strange relationship. The way the score swells before an abrupt stop again works to manipulate the audience and make them question exactly what is happening, whether we are likewise beginning to become inured to the danger of Iwazono. Hijiri Kojima gives a spellbinding performance as Kuniko, more than a match for Naoto Takenaka’s Iwazono.

“The Perfect Education” is an erotic crime thriller with a controversial theme that many viewers may find uncomfortable. It gets at the heart of what sex and relationships are about, a battle of desires and demands, with aggressor and victim often shifting places. The film’s nuance and apparent ambivalence about the fate of Kuniko give it a certain power, confronting the audience with these events while seemingly offering little in the way of commentary itself. The film perhaps gets close to revealing unpalatable truths about humanity and the psychology of relationships, leaving much unsaid and open to interpretation. In the end, it is up to the audience to take what they will from this story, but it is undeniably one that is thought-provoking and with two excellent performances from Kojima and Takenaka.