[.ca] Pistol Opera

Pistol Opera is not Very Good:
I had big expectations for this movie after seeing the trailer for it but I was very dissapointed. The movie has some very nice visuals and is quite beautiful. As well a few of the characters are interesting like the sneezing assasin or the young girl who always carries a lantern. Despite this it is very painful to watch. It is as though the director tried to make a movie into one huge movie trailer. The story is chaotic and there isn't enough to keep your attention. The only thing remarkable about this movie is the nude scenes with a 14 year old girl that push sexual taboos. Maybe the film was an excuse for the 78 year old director to see a REALLY young girl naked. If you are expecting it to be like Ichi the Killer or Versus than you will probably not like it. At such a steep price you should rent before you buy.

Impressive amalgamation of styles.:
Picture Sergio Leonne crossed with John Woo and then add a big dash of Martha Grahmm. A visually unique film, a remake of Suzuki's 1967 film Branded to Kill, which (obliquely) tells the story of a young hit-person named Stray Cat (Brian Setzer jokes intentionally witheld) who has been forced into a killing tournament with other ranked assasins. The aspect of this film that holds it in such sharp relief from others in the genre is the visualization. Suzuki use a few conventional setups, but on the whole the film shows an expresionist representation of the story taking place. There are even portions of Pistol Opera where dance becomes the intergral means of communicating plot to a viewer. While it can be a bit confusing at times (I still don't get the deal with the bulldozer and the poppies) and has a taste of being filmed in a hurry (there was one scene where I stopped counting boom shots around 10 and a very important scene where someone runs into a "tree" and nearly knocks the flimsy thing over), these are nitpicks. I just finished watching this film and wanted to write this while the experiance is fresh in my mind. My advice is to relax. If a story element has you frowning, give it a minute and things should become clear. Even if it doesn't, don't worry about it. This is a rad flick, a cool story with awesome visual impact. Then watch it a second time and see if you can figure out what was going on with that dang bulldozer.

Suzuki certainly hasn't mellowed...:
Pistol Opera is a difficult movie to watch. Scenes do not connect in a standard linear fashion. Movements are stylized, drawing more inspiration from modern dance movements than Tarentino-esque action flicks. Makiko-chan makes a compelling heroine, but we never get any insight on her character or any others. And the tempo of the movie slows towards the end, repeating certain shots, increasing the tedium and the desire for a more meaningful conclusion, which never comes. Why four stars then? Suzuki is a master of this kind of cinematic tone-poem, and this is probably his most unrestrained work yet. It was just this bizarre vision which got him black-listed back in the 60's, and it comforting that he has lost none of his confidence in his own extremely unconventional style. Often visually stunning and filmed in beautiful primary colors (as opposed to "Branded to Kill", the 'prequel' which was in B & W), "Pistol Opera" gets off on its own audaciousness and if you're ready for a REALLY different trip to the movies, then maybe you're ready for this baby