Tokyo Drifter (1966)
Chosen by Andrew some years ago and the dvd has sat on my shelf since then. Sorry Andrew.
One of the things that is not brought up a lot in regards to film crit. is that outside factors can affect you.
Perhaps that subway sandwich was sitting heavy and your squirmed uncomfortable through the whole thing. Maybe you just had some terrible news. Or you were sat next to someone you really liked.
No person is a vacuum. And some of things can sway you sub-consciously.
Obviously you try to be dispassionate about those things, distancing them from the film, but who knows how you might have felt a different day.
All of this is to say - I was kind of in a foul mood when I watched Tokyo Drifter. So I'm not sure I really followed all it's plot. I lost track of some of the names and faces, though I had the broad strokes by the end and a quick wiki suggests I hadnt missed much detail.
Even so, Tokyo Drifter is a rather fabulous film.
Puncturing the ideals of loyalty and tradition it stands as a stylish rebuke to some yakuza stories.
And oh that style.
A weird mix of pop art, gangster and western influences. Every other frame feels like it could be used to run on the One Perfect Shot twitter account for weeks.
Blue and red suits contrast the 'hero' and villain. Sunglasses are reached for in gunfights. This is more avant-garde than thriller and clearly owes a debt to Goddard though it's less interested in the characters lives than he would be.
An extended riff on the western bar room brawl prefigures the spoof Casino Royale and becomes more and more ridiculous as it goes on.
An idiosyncratic delight.
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