Shinjuku Triad Society

Amidst a Chinese and Japanese mafia war, a lawyer for the Chinese mob finds a rift forming between him and his corrupt police officer brother. Welcome to the "black society", the underworld that exists just beyond the periphery of our vision.

In this world, many of the characters have a grey, ambiguous morality, and (in the words of Tom Mes) "nobody does what you expect them to do." In this sense, the film is not terribly far removed from the classic noir with its gritty scenarios and anti-heroes. Of course, here it goes in directions never before considered.

The ethnic / nationality aspect is fascinating, even if not fully comprehensible to an American audience. We can understand the ancient divide between China and Japan, and appreciate how this battle is now playing out between the Triads and yakuza. But the use of a character half-Japanese, half-Chinese is brilliant. Americans who do not understand the languages or customs may miss the point, but for their culture it is no different than how we once thought of the "mulatto" -- rejected by both black and white cultures.

Sight & Sound noted the film was similar to the gangster films of Kinji Fukasaku, while noting that it still contained "scenes such as the one where sodomy is used as a police interrogation technique bear Miike's unmistakable signature." (Interestingly, neither Miike nor Fukasaku are primarily known for their gangster films -- Fukasaku is connected best to "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Battle Royale".)

The film is one of the earliest examples of Miike's use of extreme violence. We have decapitated heads, eyes ripped from their sockets, and the aforementioned sodomy. The film also has some unsettling sexual aspects. Not quite on par with Miike's "Visitor Q", but what is?

Also worth noting is the soundtrack, which often sound like more 1980s synth than 1990s techno. Was this a style choice, or was Japan in a different musical era than the United States in 1995? Interestingly, this film is composer Atorie Shira's only credit. Another "anachronism" is a trunk shot very reminiscent of "Reservoir Dogs" (1992). Coincidence? It's no secret that Tarantino borrows from his favorite films, but was Miike borrowing from Tarantino?

Arrow Video has released the film as part of their Black Society Blu-ray box set, complete with an all-new audio commentary from Miike expert Tom Mes, the author of "Agitator". This is actually the second Mes commentary for the film, so anyone who has an old DVD can now hear him twice. (Interestingly, he feels this film has a "gothic element", which is not something that immediately comes to mind when you are talking about Miike.)

Shinjuku is a bizarre film even by Miike's standards. I'm still undecided about whether I like this film or not and I'm not quite sure where to begin describing this film. In layman's terms it's a film about two brothers, one's a police officer (Kiriya) the other is a lawyer (Yoshihito) working for the mafia. During the course of the film a war breaks out between the Chinese and Japanese gangs, and it's down to Kiriya to keep his younger brother safe from the fallout.

Shinjuku is one of Miike's early projects and was the first one to get him noticed, whether that's from the sheer shock factor or genuine talent I don't know. The film has a certain low budget aesthetic that works really well. The film also has a genuine sense of grit and nihilism to it. The characters are all horrible, and they do horrific things to each other. From scenes where the police interrogate their suspects by anally raping them, to the mafia harvesting organs from children there are no good guys in this film, only shades of grey.

The film also tries to deal with a wide range of taboo topics, most notably having a homoerotic undertone which at times felt out of place, and only there to serve as shock value. Over-all there are some interesting aspects to the film. I liked the main story and the juxtaposition between the two brothers, despite it not being very original. Shinjuku had moments of brilliance but for the most part I didn't buy into what Miike was going for.

I found this a bit hard to follow to the extent that it seemed to dip in the middle while I tried to make head or tail of who was fighting who and why. One of the problems is the cultural/language one. Here we have a Chinese/Taiwanese/Japanese problem of which we know little and because we are simply reading English subtitles inevitably loose some of the subtleties. Another problem is that there seem to be just too many only half explained twists and coincidences. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that there is a wholly bad Miiki film and this certainly is not that. Plenty of stylish and bone crunching violence, a window upon some less than orthodox sexual goings on plus the family aspect. All in all a decent ride but maybe checking out the storyline might actually be helpful before watching this one. PLEASE SEE later re-appraisal 11/2/19

Shinjuku Triad Society: Chinese Mafia Wars is unlikely to get distribution in the West outside film festivals. Why? Could your censors stomach a film where policemen anally rape male and female suspects to get them to talk (and the victims enjoy it) or see an old lady have her eye torn out of her skull? These are just a few of the shocks in store for viewers of this ultraviolent cops and gangsters story. It makes Clockwork Orange which was banned for years in the UK look like a Disney cartoon.

Should you see this film? YES It is fantastic and essential viewing for fans of Asian cinema. The shocking moments are there to illustrate what goers on in the world of these characters. If you like this make sure you catch Dead or Alive which is very similar (barring the insane ending in DOA of course). Great for Japan that they have a talent like Miike working at the same time as Takeshi Kitano. The best chance of seeing this film outside a Takashi Miike retrospective at a film festival is on DVD. If I haven't put you off try hunting for a Hong Kong version on the web as I'm sure it will come out in that country.

I really like Miikes movies about Yakuza, this one I saw about 2 years ago and it really fu**ed my head. Never before seen such a sick and twisted thing. The Story is good and the actors do their thing very well. I haven't seen the UK or Japan version, but I have to say that I believe that the German DVD is a bit censored. If you haven't seen the movie already and live in Germany maybe you better look out for a DVD from the Nederlands or Austria. The I-ON DVD contains a lot of very hard and nasty scenes, but at the showdown I felt that something was missing, about one or two very short scenes.

All in all a good perverted movie with crazy characters and a high level of violence, that's what I like Miike for!!