Hatsukoi

A chance encounter between a young boxer and a prostitute causes an all out gang war and they are both caught right in the middle of it. Takashi Miike anyone?

When one goes to see a Takashi Miike film one expects certain things. It has to be grotesquely violent, slightly tongue in the cheek and an over the top story that that would never work with anyone else at the helm. FIRST LOVE delivers everything and more. In fact it is a surprisingly coherent, thought through and even touching film that works on many levels. It is drama, it is a comedy, it's an action film and it's a thriller, where all elements are a perfect fit.

This is classic Miike with Japanese yakuza and Chinese triad going at each other over nothing. It may be a bizarre and violent affair, but the cut off limbs and heads seem a bit Monty Pythonish, which makes the gore slightly less disturbing.

There's a lot of fun to be had here, this is a sort of film Tarantino would like (he did praise Miike as one of his favourites) and this film is Miike at his best.

With its jazzy upbeat soundtrack and out there action, this is an energised piece of work that has to be seen to be believed.

This is a crazy black comedy. Not seen a Miike movie before but will be on the lookout now! I can't wait for a crappy American remake to show just how good it was.

A fast, funny, zany escapade. Comic book fun. A delightful surprise.

Strongly recommend.

Good casting, great cinematography, fitting score and decent directing, but there were obvious plot and technical issues. The 108 run time felt much longer and some scenes were too long and/or unnecessary. The choreography and camera shots were terrible in the action scenes. A good film but could've easily been great.

First Love takes too long to actually get going but it's ultimately worth it once it does. A twisted tale of true romance with a colourful cast of characters and brutally cartoonish violence. This is a better Yakuza movie than Takashi Miike's actual Yakuza adaptation, especially when it comes to its tonal balance.

Masataka Kubota and Sakurako Konshi are great leads who are easy to root for however, in a film like this it's the characters who are truly deranged who make the biggest impression. Becky's vengeance obsessed Julie and Jun Murakami's coolest Yakuza ever are the most over the top characters and therefore run away with the whole film.

Director Takashi Miike excels at balancing wildly different tones here. Moving from creepy hallucinations to bloody sword fights and pretty moving emotional beats whilst still finding time for some comedy. His trademark love of shoddy CGI remains intact and he comes up with a very clever way to work around the lack of budget when it comes to a late stage car chase.

On the light side of Miike but still with plenty of what you expect from his palette. Camera work and cliches work perfect here supported by a great soundtrack. Kind of modern jazz frenzy beat. Also great to see Shota Sometani in a different roll.

Pretty good to have a taste of Miike.