Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998)

It’s hard to find a crime drama that came out in the five-year span after Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction that wasn’t directly or indirectly influenced by them, and this goes for Japanese crime dramas as well. Case in point, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, a wild rock n’ roll ride with a wordy title that is obviously influenced by Tarantino, although a comparison to a Guy Ritchie film might be more apt, as Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl moves at a frenetic pace, and sports a cast of wild, crazy, buffoonish, cartoonish, and violent characters. However, Snatch came out around the same time, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels was still a year away when Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl came out, so there’s no way of knowing if the influence is there. Regardless, the spirit is.

The Plot.

SSM&PHG is the surrealist story of Momojiri (“Peach Hip”, or "Peach ass" if you prefer) Toshiko (played by Shie Kohinata - an actress who doesn't seem to have done much before or after this role), a youngish girl held as an employed captive by her creepy uncle Sonezaki, played by Shimada Yohachi (Party 7) at the rundown hotel “Symphonia” in an undetermined mountainous area somewhere in rural Japan. Toshiko implements a plan to run away from her disturbed uncle and is finally on the road when she is distracted from her drive by a guy fleeing past her car naked but for his tighty whities.  This underwear clad guy is a good-natured bad guy by the name of Samehada ("Sharkskin"), played by Asano Tadanobu (Party 7, Ichi the Killer). Samehada stole some money from this yakuza group he worked for, and seems to be haphazardly fleeing without much in the way of an escape plan. Fortunately for him, and not so much for Toshiko, she rams into the pursuing vehicle filled with Yakuza, flipping their car and knocking her unconscious.  Samehada quickly commandeers Toshiko's damaged car (with her unconscious still inside), and the chase is on. When Samehada and Toshiko hit the road, bullets and knives fly, and we are introduced to director Katsuhito Ishii’s crazy cast of characters.

Chasing the young lovers is Samehada's former mentor and partner Sawada (Played by yakuza film perennial Susumu Terajima of Gonin 2, Ichi the Killer, Sonatine, and Brother), and Mr. Tanuki, played by Ittoku Kishibe (Another Battle, Violent Cop), and his crew of fashion show rejects, all with odd mannerisms and “Royale with cheese” dialogue fit for a Quentin Tarantino movie. Among the nutty collection of Yakuza crew members we have Mr. Tanuki's neurotic and apprehensive driver Sorimachi, played by Ko Takasugi, the boss's psychotic brat son Mitsuru, played by Tsurumi Shingo (Dead or Alive), strongman Taniguchi, played by Yamada Shingoro, and a baseball bat wielding guy who seems to be suffering from multiple sclerosis name Inuzuka, played by Horibe Keisuke (Party 7), and a whole host of others.

We already know pretty much up front that this band of yakuza misfits is no match for Samehada. That being said, it’s also obvious that Samehada’s lack of a plan to get away with the stolen cash all but guarantees that they’ll catch up with him eventually. Thrown into the chase is Yoshiko’s perverted uncle and his twisted little buddy turned hitman, Yamada, played with disturbing levity by Tatsuya Gasyuin (Party 7), who complicates things for both sides.

The Violent Rundown.

On top of all the other fun, there is a lot of violence in the movie, all of which I dutifully recorded for you. About 17 shootings (including two off screen), two knifings (thrown or otherwise), around four off screen beatings, and a couple on screen beatings, including one with a baseball bat, and a head bashed with a stereo. The violence is more of the black comedy variety, and has no actual impact considering all of the actors are essentially playing over-the-top live action cartoon characters, which keeps it all fun and games in the end.  Suffice it to say, director Ishii doesn't let realism get in the way of the fun.

The Final Verdict.

The move itself looks good (although with the dark and grainy late 1990’s Japanese cinema look aside), with great costumes and decidedly non-urban Japanese landscapes. The movie also includes one of the best opening credits sequences in a yakuza film, and really sets the tone for what’s to come.  In fact, I can't imagine a person seeing the opening sequence and NOT wanting to immediately go out and see this movie:



Although at its core, this is clearly a “lovers on the run” flick, Samehada clearly isn’t running scared. He’s running because it’s fun. Asano Tadanobu seems to be having so much fun in fact, he doesn’t seem to be

acting so much as just playing along with what, all in all, seems to be an excuse to dress up in designer clothes, run around playing with guns, and have Tarantino-esque conversations about nothing. It’s all mindless fun, but it looks good, sounds good, and keeps things entertaining the entire trip. IMDB gives it 7/10, audience scores on Rotten Tomato give it 81%, and critics give it 25%, so this is one of those cases where the critics are just plain wrong. SSM&PHG is probably one of my favorite black comedy/action yakuza films, and with a great rock and roll soundtrack, greatly stylized costumes, and ridiculous, cartoonish violence, I highly recommend it.

Party 7 (2000)

Although more a movie containing Yakuza than a traditional Yakuza movie, Party 7, Katsuhito Ishii's 2000 followup to his frenetic Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl is possibly still worth a look - and the latter movie is exactly why I threw this one in the Netflix queue in the first place.  Despite the sometimes negative reviews of Sharkskin Man, I thought it was GREAT, and so I decided to track down director Ishii's next movie. Party 7 has seven main characters (hence the title), all introduced during a very cool, yet very long animated opening credit sequence (almost as cool as his intro for SM&PHG).  The characters are typical Ishii characters - quirky, colorful, and talkative.  If Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl was a nod to Quentin Tarantino, then Party 7 is a nod to David Lynch - if he had directed a Quentin Tarantino-written script.  Quirky Tarrantino-esque extended dialogue about nothing in particular abounds, as do strange Lynchian characters - remember David Lynch's Twin Peaks? (Or Miike's Gozu?) That's the kind of characters you find here.





The Plot.

The plot of Party 7 is simple and straightforward. Low level and bumbling Yakuza Miki Shunichiro snatched $200 million from his syndicate, and hides out at the Hotel New Mexico, a strange isolated hotel filled with quirky employees.  Soon, one after another people from his past start showing up at his hotel room door, including his hot ex-girlfriend, her pathetic weakling boyfriend, his Yakuza brother, and an assassin sent to kill them all.  Meanwhile, everything happening in his room is being watched by Captain Banana, a professional peeping tom, and his new protege, Okita Soji - although not the Bakumatsu era Samurai sword master of the same name.  This Okita Soji is a sweatervest wearing peeping tom with a bad haircut, played by Asano Tadanobu, who is the complete polar opposite of his character Samehada from Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl. All that's left is to see who gets the money, and what the heck is going on with the peeping toms in the adjacent secret room.


The Characters.

I'm sure you could make some sort of highbrow argument that each of the seven characters make up a separate Jungian archetype - heck, if I was writing a paper for college on this movie that's exactly what I'd do.  But suffice it to say, each of the seven characters is distinct in their own crazy way.  You have Okita Soji, mentioned above, played by Asano Tadanobu (Ichi the Killer, Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl).  I suspect if one was to watch Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl, and then Party 7, they probably wouldn't even realize it's the same actor, he's that different in this.  He's a nerdy creepy peeping tom who just lost his father (AKA Captain the Yellow, in a twist of Jinglish), and seems to be trying to work through his issues, but not very effectively.  Captain Banana, his father's old peeping buddy (played by the very recently deceased Harada Yoshio), tries to mentor Okita in the ways of peeping, and one of the many engaging plot points is figuring out if Soji will follow in his father's footsteps or not.  No, I'm not serious, I really didn't care all that much.

Miki Shunichiro, played by Nagase Masatoshi is essentially the main character, possibly splitting the job with Asano Tadanobu.  He's a bumbling Yakuza with a suitcase full of cash but no idea how to proceed, and seems to be living a comedy of errors. Mitsukoshi Kana, played by Kobayashi Akemi, is the smoking hot ex-girlfriend of Miki, and apple of Soji's peeping eye, or she quickly becomes so - she's a tough and pouty hot chick who tracked down Miki in his hotel room to collect on a debt.  She is quickly followed by her current boyfriend, a bowl-cut sporting skinny nerd by the name of Todohira, played by Okada Yoshinori, and Miki's Yakuza buddy Sonoda, played by Hirobe Keisuke (Also from the director's previous - and much better - film Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl), who has been sent by the boss to recover the money stolen by Miki.  Lastly, we have Wakagashira, played by Gasyuin Tatsuya, who you will also remember as yet another alum from SSM&PHG (the odd hitman character named Yamada) - mainly because he's playing the same character. He's been tasked with killing everyone.  And that's the "seven" of Party 7. There are a handful of other characters, like the strange hotel staff, the travel agent who can't keep a secret, and Okita Soji's psychiatrist, played by Yakuza film great, Osugi Ren.


The Final Verdict.

Party 7 is over 2 hours long, but it really plays like a short film - probably because the entire movie takes place mainly in two rooms.  The characters are interesting, but the story isn't - exactly how much plot, drama, and twists can you throw into a movie filmed in two rooms?  In this case, not much. (BUT on the other hand, ARAGAMI, which was also filmed in a room or two, was awesome - so it can be done). Party 7 is pointless on its own, it is more like one act of a Tarrantino movie (albeit a very long act).  Is is quirky?  Yes.  But quirky David Lynchian characters with Tarrantino-esque dialogue a movie it does not make.  Now that I think about it, it might make for an interesting stage play, though.  If you like quirky movies, and you liked SSM&PHG, you might like this - stress on the might. Despite the length of the film, it doesn't feel that long, again probably because the sets or situation really never changes.  If it felt any longer, I probably would have been forced to shut it off.  The colorful characters are great, but in this case the sum of the parts is greater than the actual whole - good characters in a less good movie.

Realistically, although it's worth a look for those interested, I can't recommend it for just anyone who isn't into quirky movies and characters. Granted, the dialogue is pretty good, and can be outright funny, but people who expect a deep plot with twists and turns, and well, a meaningful plot most of all, should probably just plain skip this one. There are little glimpses here and there of greatness, but it just doesn't hold. And that is quite a disappointment after director Ishii's fast paced, colorful and crazy music video movie SSM&PHG.  It's better than the most B of B movies like Blood or the Tokyo Mafia series, but even Wild Criminal is a little more interesting - maybe if only because it's more conventional.  Party 7 is not for everyone, but film nerds and people who like movies with quirky characters should get a kick out of it.