Sukiyaki Western Django - 32nd HKIFF

Miike Takashi returns to form with his latest Sukiyaki dish here. This time he couples with Quentin Tarantino to produce a witty piece of cult cinema. It certainly feels like a hot pot with different ingredients, a tribute to spaghetti western and Kurosawa, throw in a bit of shakespeare, “Kill Bill”, gangster genre and Miike's usual weird/surreal world of violence and sexual tension. Both Miike and Tarantino seem to suffer from a haul in their career with their last work neither a genuine hit nor a cult classic. Yet, the cross over of their style looks paying off here. Indeed, one would say Tarantino, while only being cast as one of the minor characters, have his influence more than just an on-screen apprearance; the story about vengences where winner takes all, female heroine and up to the use of samauri sword, are just some of the styles borrowed by Takashi and used here. Then of course, all the original idea was once "borrowed" by Tarantino from his day of watching old Japanese classic films. An interesting point to note was that this is probably one of the first Japanese production in which all the Japanese actors are speaking English (even if they sound very bad at times!). Rarely does this happen and with the help of subtitle, it gives that extra senses of humour/surprises into it. It may not be another "audition" or "Gozu" with same surreal/mind bending level but it is certain more fun involved here.