Sukiyaki Western Django

2007 samurai western

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A mysterious gunslinger arrives in a tense Nevada town where two warring clans, a red one and a white one, are at a Yojimbo-esque stalemate in their battle over some treasure that neither of them can even find. Both sides could use his services, but he's got his mind on something other than treasure. Lots of Gungans gonna die.

Takashi Miike is at the top of my list of directors whose work I'd love to see more of. This movie's an addictively quirky blend of tomfoolery and dramatic action. You've got stylized cartoon gore in a stained-glass world, a grotesque mixture of the wildest West and the wacky East. You've got comical caricatures--a buffoon of a sheriff, the nearly invincible leaders of the rival gangs--who die and then claw their way back from the grave inexplicably, use wind gusts and gravity to absurdly angle their bullets to meet their targets, and survive numerous riddlings with bullets. You've also got extremely goofy dialogue, the goofiness accentuated by the broken English used by the Japanese actors. I really doubt most of the actors even have any idea what they're saying, but it lends a uniqueness to the characters. I love the look of the film, the cultural clash of Japanese architecture and dusty Nevada, sets seemingly borrowed from spaghetti westerns, some looking like they were just vomited from a kaleidoscope. The story's not strong and there are lots of moments that cross the line from cool to stupid, but the odd balancing act between homage and parody makes this an intriguing movie.