Retribution

This is a rather forgettable horror film, which is a letdown coming from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. I see people on the messageboard for this film claiming that disliking it shows a lack of sophistication, or a failure to appreciate Japanese cinema. I'm a fan of the Asian horror wave of the past decade or so. I had no trouble following movies like Suicide Club, The Eye, and A Tale of Two Sisters. And I love several of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's other works: Cure, Charisma, Korei (Seance) and Kairo (Pulse.) I didn't like Retribution. It has long tension-building takes and quirky observed moments like Kurosawa's better works; he's an assured director who excels at atmosphere. But the plot of this film may actually be TOO clear. Cure, Charisma and Pulse are evocative films that leave central questions unanswered, haunting viewers.

In Retribution, everything is revealed, and the supernatural comes to seem ordinary, a little boring and even a little silly. Techniques and images repeat from Kurosawa's better films. Retribution has its moments, but there's nothing here that Kurosawa hasn't already done better elsewhere.

This is not your typical j-horror. There are no bloody murders, no nudity, and you really have to contemplate everything to figure it out. It requires and investment that most horror aficionados would be loathe to do.

Kôji Yakusho (Babel, and the original and much better Shall We Dance?) is Yoshioka, a detective that is investigating a murder, and he finds clues that point to him as the killer. He is visited by a ghost of the victim (Riona Hazuki) and he is going crazy because he can't figure what he did wrong. Even after they find her killer, she still haunts him.

Repetitive occurrences and talk indicate that they may be clues to the mystery - frequent earthquakes, all the victims were drowned in salt water (including one in a tub), the preoccupation with the ferry from 15 years ago, and the constant talk of tearing down and rebuilding along the coast.

These things keep occurring, but they don't bring you any closer to the truth.

Manami Konishi, as Yoshioka's girlfriend was a pleasurable presence, as well as an excellent actress.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa certainly knows how to tell a ghost story.

You know you're getting something special and unusual when watching a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie. Reason why I often like his movies so much is because they always start of as something formulaic and you're sure the movie will be heading in a certain direction but then suddenly it will completely turn around and the movie and its story start taking an unexpected approach.

The movie pretty much starts off as a thriller, in which the police is hunting down a supposed serial killer. But it soon starts to become apparent that there actually is far more going on and the movie takes a more horror-like turn.

But please don't watch this movie expecting a typical Japanese horror flick, with scare moments and such. This movie is anything but typical and it's just not really a straight-forward horror flick. It's more subtle and clever with its story and build-up. Some people might find it too slow but those were probably expecting this movie to be a more typical Japanese horror flick.

It's really a movie that is heavy on its build-up. It can definitely get hard to follow and understand at times but this is basically always the case with a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie. They allow you to think and interpret certain scenes and moments in your own way. Lots is always being left up to your own interpretation, so also don't expect the movie to just hand you all of the questions or to give a clear explanation of everything at the end.

It's really a very well directed movie, that also focuses heavily on its visuals. It's a real fine looking movie, with nice cinematography and some great settings got picked, for the movie its story. Kiyoshi Kurosawa is also an horror director who often uses special effects for his movies. It's always very well incorporated into his films and all serves a purpose within the style and story of the movies, as is also the case with this movie.

Really a movie you have to experience for yourself.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Kyoshi Kurosawa is a talented but maybe too prolific director. Since the early 90's, he had almost directed 30 movies. No wonder that, when Takashige Ichise, the master producer of J-Horror ("Ring", "The Grudge") asks him to direct one of the Jap-Horror trilogy movie along with Hideo Nakata and Shimizu, you get a little feeling of "Déjà-vu" in front of his new movie : "Sakebi" (Retribution).

Of course, there's still lots of excellent ideas in the movie, and some parts are majestically directed : all the ghosts apparitions are really beautiful, and the movie take there and then an experimental approach in their representation. It almost looks like a modern art installation. Some shots are also really well thought, as the one of the interrogation of a suspect, filmed in continuation, with the help of a mirror in the back in order to create a double space. But the most original aspect of the movie is the depiction of the modern Tokyo, witch doesn't look modern at all. In the movie, the city looks like a post-war town, everything is rotten and lugubre, there's nobody in the dark streets. You don't often see such a representation of Japan, far from the clichés of the ultra-modern society it's supposed to be.

But the problem is that all this was ultimately in others Kurosawa's movies, as if he wanted to offer a sort of best-of his previous works here. His style haven't change, and the story isn't really surprising for any "Kaïro"'s spectator. This lack of surprise leads to a feeling of boringness, and I couldn't get out of my mind, after the movie, the idea that it was clearly unoriginal (for a Kurosawa's movie, of course) and a little bit too long (maybe cutting 20 minutes of the movie would have been a good thing).

But all in all, this movie is a good introduction to his tormented universe, and for those who already know it, well, a new Kyoshi Kurosawa's movie certainly comes out in 3 months.

I saw this movie at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The movie was announced as being "horror for those who did not like horror". I was afraid it would be a typical Japanese horror, with creepy sounds, dark colors and mean ghosts. Now, there was a ghost and annoying sounds (the title in Japanese means "the scream"). But there was more.

The main character is a detective, who investigates murders in Tokyo. It seems like there is a serial killer out, because the murders have the same method of killing. But then he gets haunted by what seems to be the first victim.

The movie evolves from solving a crime and catching a murderer to a search for mysterious connections. It may not all seem to make sense, there is an explanation in the end. Maybe not satisfying enough for some, but I don't think the explanation is the whole point of the movie.

There remains a vibe of mystery. If you come in expecting a typical American horror, you surely will be disappointed. But if you like some dark, Japanese mystery, including some scares, you will certainly enjoy this one.