Fukushû: Kienai kizuato (1997)

Fukushû: Kienai kizuato (1997). 1h 23m

“Before emerging as an international cult favorite with the slow-burn thriller u0026quot;Cureu0026quot; in 1997, Kiyoshi Kurosawa was deeply mired in producing efficient and violent direct to video yakuza cheapies. The six part TV series u0026quot;Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourselfu0026quot; (1995-1996) had made Kurosawa a well known artist in Japan, and this gave him the license to create further experiments in the yakuza genre, playing with conventions and, ultimately, not really taking the genre very seriously. u0026quot;The Revenge; Parts 1 and 2u0026quot; were prime examples of a filmmaker whose boredom with the idea of the embedded yakuza culture gave way to seeing just how oblique he could make the well-worn genre look.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf some studio were to bless Kurosawa with the finances to create an 8 hour gangster flick, Iu0026#39;m certain heu0026#39;d run with the idea. Like his later films u0026quot;The Serpentu0026#39;s Pathu0026quot; and u0026quot;Eyes of the Spideru0026quot;, Kurosawa takes a central theme and tweaks it just enough to back end two films together in alternating fashion. Starring long time regular Sho Aikawa, u0026quot;The Revenge; Parts 1 and 2u0026quot; tracks a manu0026#39;s existence from goodly cop to incessant revenge-driven killer after his wife is murdered by the local yakuza. Part 1, titled u0026quot;A Visit From Fateu0026quot;, is the better of the two parts, building up a slight back story for Aikawau0026#39;s cop Anjo as his family is murdered before his eyes while he cowers in the closet as a scared five year old. Spared by the seemingly aloof killer, Anjo grows up to become a policeman. After a drug suspect kills himself when running from Anjo later in life, his body is picked up by a guardian, who turns out to be the seemingly benign killer who spared his life as a child. Anjou0026#39;s tracking of the guardian leads him into the spotlight of a local yakuza gang, so they murder his wife as a warning. From there, Part 1 and Part 2, titled u0026quot;A Scar That Never Disappearsu0026quot;, follows Anjo on his quiet but violent quest to exact revenge.”