The World of Kanako

This is one of those films that you need to pay attention to. It is about Kanako Fujishima who is a bright and beautiful high school student. She is 'the cool set' all by herself and everyone wants to know her. Then one day she goes missing with no trace and no apparent reason for having done so. She lives with her mum who has divorced her father due to his atrocious behaviour.

He was a cop who quit the force around the same time and has become a drug and drink dependant security guard ever since – a state of affairs which has done little to improve his behaviour. However, when their daughter goes missing he is called by his estranged wife to find her. Thus begins a search in which he wants to find his daughter, but in doing so he uncovers a whole side to her that he had never imagined.

Now this is a film that I completely loved and was a bit bowled over by to be honest. It starts a bit full on with plenty of blood splatter – a theme that is repeated rather a lot throughout the 114 minute run time. Ex cop Akikazu is a real 'piece of work', brutish, violent, paradoxical and about as likable as a bout of gangrene.

He explodes onto the screen is a flurry of abuse which he sort of maintains throughout. He drives a 1970's Nissan Gloria which is in keeping with a lot of the styling here. That being the opening sequences are very seventies and full of Batman like words imposed in cartoon on the screen – mainly violent or profane. There is animation throughout too. It is violent, it is bonkers in places and to my amazement I actually laughed a couple of times. There are a few minor issues with continuity but nothing that could possibly detract from the overall impact of this great piece of Japanese movie making.

A jaded Japanese detective reevaluates his faded memories of his estranged teenage daughter when asked by his ex-wife to investigate her disappearance in this one-of-a-kind crime drama directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. The film is assembled with a very vibrant visual style that varies from rapid fire edits to bouts of animation to slow paced, leisurely shots that bask in the beauty of Christmas lights. The film also begins in a curious anti-narrative manner as the protagonist's memories are mixed with clips of his daughter partying and the police quizzing him. Narrative point-of-view is also broken for several flashbacks told from his daughter's boyfriend's perspective. Given the plot and stylistic touches, the film is perhaps best described as 'Kill Bill' meets 'The Third Man' and it gets points for originality alone. The dialogue is full of philosophical quips too about how some of us are not "cut out to be a human being" and how easy it is "to fall into a hole so deep" that you keep falling. Yet, for all its daringness and intelligence, the film does not entirely work. The actual solution to the girl's disappearance is mundane and the value of all the red herrings is debatable, especially the question mark placed over the true nature of his relationship to his daughter, but it does cause one to think. The ultimate messages at hand are relatively simple (not everyone is who you think they are; some vices in life are dangerous), however, the emotional roller-coaster is a hard experience to shake. This is an effective film in that it gets you in the protagonist's mind and forces you to question how you would react. The Harry Lime dynamic also works well with a protagonist as naïve as Holly Martins. This is not however the easiest film under the sun to endure.

I have no idea what to say. It's impossible not to go "What The Hell" like, a 100 times until the end of the movie. I can't even describe it.

===1. STORY - 6/10===

The story's pretty much about a father searching for his lost daughter, who has been missing for about a week. Every step closer to finding his daughter, sheds a new light on his daughter's true colours. Quite an adventure. It gave me new ideas and tips on to how to create a real thrilling story.

The downside is, watching this movie made me walk over to a corner, get down into a fetus position, and rock back and forth. It was REALLY violent, REALLY disturbing, ABSOLUTELY depressing and OVER THE TOP disgusting.

The upside is, however, was it wasn't one of those films with random killing and stuff. The movie actually had a story. Everything'll be explained throughout the movie until the credits. All they did was add a little more bonkers into every action they did.

===2. ACTING - 9/10===

The acting however, was absolutely fantastic. Akikazu, Kanako, and everyone else. They all did an amazing job. The movie's true aim was to show that you can't trust anybody but yourself. In the movie, you think that the character seems nice, but next thing you know, they just go ridiculously crazy.

===3. CINEMATOGRAPHY - 9/10===

The cinematography and imagery were REALLY good. It really gave the vibe of a dark,cold and sad world.

===4. SOUNDTRACK - 8.5/10===

The music's really good too. Playing some classic Dean Martin hits while a murder is taking place. It really gave me the feeling of uneasiness they wanted to deliver.

===5. OVERALL - 7/10===

Never watch this at a family gathering.

I watched this movie because I loved the film "Kamikaze Girls" which was made by the same director. But instead, I got a film with a 'slice of hell' mushed all over it.

Moral To Story: Never do drugs.

The premise may be minimal, a man searching for his missing daughter discovers she's not what she seems, but the execution is totally over the top.

For starters, it's hyper stylized. The non-linear narrative is frantically edited, at times hard to follow, but always keeping you on your toes. It wilfully mixes genres, going from rogue cop action to teen drama to gory horror to Japanese dance party to art house at the drop of a hat. The music struggles to keep up with the shifting moods, often coming across as a parody of the various styles it emulates. It occasionally aims for the thrift store score of a Tarantino flick, but pales in comparison to his masterful curation.

In a interesting creative choice, the central protagonist is an absolutely loathsome character. He acts as a catalyst for the onslaught of ultraviolence that drives the intrigue of the film, which is as captivating as it is problematic. It unnecessarily pushes boundaries on sexual violence towards women while numbing the viewer to the excessive savagery. The film does eventually wear out it's welcome by the final leg as the seesaw between physical brutality and emotional devastation can prove exhausting over the two hour run-time.

Flaws aside, it's a totally insane ride both for the depraved subject matter and the gonzo delivery. Fully recommended for viewers with strong stomachs and off the wall tastes.

I think my headline pretty much says it all but this is a movie that infuses style, gore, cartoon, and fantasy to tell a story full of rape, violence, domestic abuse and pedophilia. A father searches for his daughter but what he finds lands him in the middle of a war between the mob, filled with police corruption, and school bullying. And this is not a spoiler, nor does it scratch the surface. It is a ridiculously creative film but the plot and characters just are not redeemable and that impacts how enjoyable the film is. And this is coming from someone who loves Moebius and Von Trier movies, but I don't find much to grasp onto here.