a review of 以藏

2019 CULT MOVIE CHALLENGE WEEK 2: TAKASHI MIIKE WEEK Of course, the task of watching the entire Miike filmography is probably best left to completists with the time and resources to devote to such an undertaking. But nonetheless I'd always thought of this one as a hole in my Miike viewing. So I guess it was sort of a disappointment to discover that everything I'd heard about Izo was basically true; it's basically a long, random slog through a vaguely defined afterlife, with the past 150 years of Japanese history being turned into cannon fodder for a historical assassin. But it never quite goes beyond that to become something more relatable. The movie doesn't so much progress as simply continue on and on, with the magic of editing taking us from one showdown to the next with the thinnest of contexts or setups. The feeling is similar to early Jodorowsky, in terms of embodying that long, iterative proto-video game aesthetic. But ultimately, it all just feels like a nihilistic exercise designed to let Miike sharpen his historical drama and action skills for later use. I don't regret seeing it, but I wish it had been more substantial.