Dir: Katsuhito Ishii, 1998, Japan, 108 mins
Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Ittoku Kishibe, Sie Kohinata, Kimie Shingyoji, Susumu Terajima
With movies from the Far East so prevelant now it's always interesting to go back and revisit early films from a cultural wave that has been threatening to break since the 90s obsession with anime. With big name directors like Quentin Tarantino being a fan and the release of Kill Bill where Tarantino went wild putting in all the references to martial arts movies he could think of it seems exchange between Hollywood and the East has become a collaboration. Going the other way Shark Skin Man is a perfect example of how Japanese film has nabbed a few pointers from popular films of the West. So close is the nature of the two industries now that Tarantino looked to Shark Skin Man director Katsuhito Ishii to direct the anime portion of Kill Bill and it's easy to see why the two were on the same wavelength.
Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl is a vivid comic book of a movie, full of stark characters each with their own specific uniform and special ability but at its core it remains a simple Yakuza story. Shark Skin Man is Kuroo Samehada, a strutting footman who's ripped off his gang and in now on the run while Peach Hip Girl is the young Toshiko Momojiri on a fugitive from her hotel-owning Uncle. On their trail are various vicious gang members but also the geeky yet violent assasin hired by Toshiko's sexually twisted uncle. So far so True Romance but Ishii is keen to pepper things with a few nods to Pulp Fiction with several scenes of pop culture discussions from the bumbling villains. These are hit and miss, the Yakuza boss with a penchant for old signs is a highlight, and are sometimes there for the sake of filling in time that could be better spent filling out the leads who sometimes seem neglected. Also sacrificed are the road movie elements that quickly go from a breathless chase to a light run round the block and fans of constant action or gunplay may want to leap ahead.
But Ishii doesn't stop at straight Tarantino parody and brings in that mystical Eastern quality lacking from this genre of movie, an air of spirtualism and fate. The first thing to notice is the location, away from Tokyo and set mainly at a remote woodland hotel to give the sense of complete disconnection and make the almost redneck air of strangeness that much more pronounced. Borrowing mood from David Lynch's Lost Highway the film gradually gets more surreal as things progress, just watching the quirky assassin showdown with Samehada in a public toilet is a weird treat.
Down to the final shot Shark Skin Man is a conscious Tarantino homage but one that stands up as a film in it's own right with Ishii stamping it with his own comic style and deadpan humour. Sometimes ragged and maybe too languid for die hard action fans Shark Skin Man is still unique enough to have it's own stand-out scenes that will no doubt work their way back into films on the other side of the water.
Richard Badley
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