Customer Reviews

Gozu

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Explaining that there's a "Yakuza attack dog" outside, a Japanese gangster in the midst of a nervous breakdown strolls out of a restaurant and proceeds to beat an adorable Chihuahua to death, culminating when he swings the animal over his head by its leash and throws it against a window with a sickening thud. A mob boss browbeats an underling over the phone while having sex with a ladle planted firmly up his rectum. An innkeeper lactates into bottles in order to avoid paying for milk, and later flogs her simple-minded brother with a chimney brush while he attempts to conjure up a spirit for a stunned guest. A drooling, cow-headed demon suddenly shows up in a dream sequence, then vanishes as quickly as it had appeared with no explanation whatsoever.

Sound weird? Well, it should. However, the foregoing are just a sampling of the oddities on display in Gozu (Japanese for "Cow head," apparently), a film that's sure to have even the most experienced enthusiasts of far-out cinema shaking their heads in wonderment. Directed by notorious Japanese weird-out master Takashi Miike with his typical combination of high style, black humor, and random acts of weirdness, Gozu is a relentlessly inscrutable movie, constantly throwing a new curveball at you just when you think you've got a grip on it. And while Miike has certainly toned down the bloodshed for which he's renowned here, his knack for unforgettable set pieces has obviously managed to survive intact. This movie has some images that WILL remain seared onto your retinas for some time after viewing, none more so than its literally unbelievable conclusion. There's not even a suitable description for that scene; you've just got to see it.

At the movie's beginning, things look much more innocent, or at least simpler. After the aforementioned mentally unbalanced Yakuza, Ozaki (played with menacing flair by Japanese crime-movie mainstay Sho Aikawa), commits his shocking act of doggy-cide in the opening scene, his boss decides he must be taken out. The task of doing the deed falls to his underling and closest friend, Minami (Hideki Sone), a nice enough sort who's understandably conflicted about whacking his old buddy. However, Minami manages to get the job done, albeit in a somewhat unconventional manner, and proceeds to a predetermined dump site in order to dispose of the body. Unfortunately, Minami makes a quick stop for coffee in a diner populated by some, er, offbeat characters, and suddenly looks at his car and finds Ozaki inexplicably gone. And that's when things get *really* weird.

His search for Ozaki takes Minami to a town filled with bizarre characters, from a gangster with no pigment on one side of his face to the aforementioned lactating innkeeper to a couple of weirdos who sit around a diner talking about the weather; and things just keep getting stranger from there. It quickly becomes apparent that Minami is the most normal person in the movie, and much of the fun of watching Gozu comes from observing the cognitive dissonance as Minami tries to adjust to the reality of his surroundings. It's horror of a sort, but it springs more from a deep-seated discomfort than from any particular shock or fright, and Sone conveys it brilliantly with little more than the frequent look of befuddlement on his face. The pacing is admittedly slow, sometimes painfully so, but that doesn't stop Gozu from being a triumph of atmosphere and surrealism. Minami is the proverbial stranger in a strange land, but here the land is strange in more ways than one. It's been said that the often tenuous nature of reality is a common theme in Miike's work, and that's apparent here, as Gozu gets a lot of mileage out of seeing Minami placed in such uncomfortable surroundings and witnessing one scarcely conceivable event after another.

Sometimes (the Yakuza boss with a ladle up his butt being a prime example) the movie's bizarre imagery is gratuitous (if funny), but in other places it's clearly designed to shock you into thinking. This becomes especially apparent in the film's final half, when the unlikely reappearance of Ozaki in an, er, modified form begin's Miike's exploration of the reincarnation/rebirth angle that gives Gozu what emotional resonance it has. This theme gains its fullest expression in the literally jaw-dropping finale, which surely ranks as one of the most stunning in film history. Again, nothing that can be written in this space can do this scene justice. It has to be seen to be disbelieved.

With all the bizarre happenings going on, Gozu is definitely a challenging watch and not exactly for everyone, but fortunately the plethora of extras on the DVD do a whole lot to enhance the viewing experience. Especially useful is the fanboy commentary track from film critics Andy Klein and Wade Major, who discuss some of the underlying themes of the movie like two experts dissecting a football game, while simultaneously placing it in context among both Miike's repertoire in particular and Japanese cinema in general. You also get an essay from Miike expert Tom Mes that cites some of the film's ideas and influences and no less than three interviews with Miike that see him talking about his philosophy on filmmaking and analyzing some of his own work. Miike is certainly one strange cat, which probably explains why he made this movie in the first place, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you like Audition or any of his other work, you should consider Gozu an essential watch.

i absolutely loved this film. without destroying the story let me tell you if one were to classify this film it would be a cross between a gangster, horror thriller, suspense mystery, and a weird twisted version of love. The japaneese are twisted and boy is this movie its gots some weird but intellectual humor constantly throughout the film. Its a little slow but it adds to the strangness of the world the main character is in. Every scene is so perfectly scripted in such an odd but intriguing way. The main character searches for his brother which may sound kinda boring but its bizarre, everyone he meets and everywhere he goes is off, theres something just not right about it all. Its like he's stuck in a dream and he is the only one and all he wants to do is find his lost brother! Throw in the dreamlike paranoia with the artistic creative side of this directors works and you got GOZU! gozu meaning cow head's got some real memorable scenes that yourll be feeling sick to or laughing about or just plain remembering at random points in the day for a long time.

When compared to Lynch I somehow disagree. It's my subjective feeling about this movie for sure, but the main difference to Lynch's movies is the fact that Lynch movies are filled up with ideas that seem connected with dreamlike logic. Every scene has this "important key moment" feeling to it, making the audience to really think and search for connections and clues. With GOZU I somehow quit looking for explanations very early on as it is deadly obvious that there are none. It's just a trip in which not really much happens - the things that happen are sometimes cool, sometimes just bizarre for it's own sake, not giving you the impression that two scenes really belong to each other. The movie and its story could be told in a few minutes but is stretched with a lot of nothingness in between the scenes. The ideas could be counted on the fingers of two hands while with Lynch, it was much more uncompromising.

GOZU tells the odyssey of a man who's searching the corpse of his boss that got lost in a strange japanese town. His quest leads him from one person to the other, everyone is acting strange, one american woman for example is having a dialogue with the guy, always staring at the ceiling, but at one point she seems to have troubles telling the name of a hotel, so he checks the ceiling and finds the whole dialogue they just had written down there. Many scenes made me go "ah wow now look there ha ha ha", but left me untouched afterwards. I think the creators wanted to have a drifter film that you can watch and be guided throught with not really much to think. Sure, it's skillfully made and I actually liked the dialogues and events, but the way they happened was not really an experience like with "2001 space odyssey", "Lost Highway" and stuff. I would more think of "Fear and loathing in las vegas" for some strange reason. Some ideas I literally disliked, they made me go "aaaw cheap cheap", like the personality change at the end of the movie. I'd say there's no Freud and such stuff in here, it's just a fun movie in the end. Like a strange, dreamy trip.

Like most of Takashi Miike's films, 'Gozu' is tough to watch. There are scenes here that are just hard to look at without scrunching your face up in shock/disguist(i.e. the dog at the beginning of the film, the lactation scene, the adult birth at the end, etc.). The film is slowly paced with sparse dialogue, filled with strange imagery, random scenes and oddly disturbing characters(i.e. ladle man, and the possibly retarded guy who keeps talking about the weather). In a nutshell, and for lack of better words, this film is truly repugnant.

I'm not really sure how to explain the film. I think it is better to go in knowing nothing and be amazed and/or disturbed by the many goings ons. This is not for the weak stomached. This is not for action movie lovers. I really don't know who this movie is for.

Miike is an amazing director. His films need to be seen because he is doing things today that no filmmaker anywhere in the world would even think of doing and he's doing them in a way that no one could or would even dare to. He's pushing the envelope in a time when very few filmmakers are. And 'Gozu' is probably the furthest he's ever pushed it.

As strange and twisted as this movie is, it manages to be completely surreal, and at times subtle. it was a crazy experience to say the least.

The second full-length Takashi Miike movie ive seen, "Ichi The Killer" being the only other. i was surprised with the overall package here. theres only one scene you could really constitute as violence, and even that is pretty hilarious in its own way. this one is out there, even for Miike. i dont want to list too much of the oddities, as thats already been done very heavily (reading them took some of the fun out of this movie for me) ill just say ive seen ichi 3 times and imprint twice, and his movie had me scratching my head in awe and confusion many times.

things start off looking like a yakuza film, but the tide turns fast as the main character is charged with killing his superior.. and best friend. early into the movie his friend disappears out of nowhere, and thus begins the search.. and an excellent journey into what may be another realm (nothing is really explained, which may put off some viewers, but i think it all just added to the intrique)

good camera work(some scenes are excellently atmospheric) lots of good laughs, although you may wander why your laughing, and a story that'll keep you guessing long after the credits(i still am)

you'll have the best experience with this movie if you just go ahead and watch it. dont read the spoilers in many reviews on here, i cant imagine how great this would've been if i hadnt known what was going to happen.

any fan of Takashi or generally strange cinema - buy this now!

Miike has lost his mind, that's for sure. What with Ichi the Killer, Izo, and Gozu, there's plenty of proof of that. But what's strange is that the loss of his sanity makes for some of the best Japanese horror films around (minus Izo). Audition, Ichi, and Gozu are his best, and Gozu is easily the strangest of the bunch. This movie, however, starts out like a normal gangster movie, introducing the key characters inside a restaurant.

But then a dog is viciously murdered and I realized just who made this movie. So, with that realization, I geared myself for the worst.

Minomi, a young Yokuza who works for a man named Brother, a psychopath in sheep's clothing, finds himself suddenly in a strange situation: he has accidentally killed his boss. Yet upon entering a small coffee shop, the body disappears from the back seat of his Ford Mustang. Despite being freaked out by the strange locals and the happenings around him, Minami decides to look for the body of Brother, and meets many more even stranger folk. He ends up at an inn run by a brother and sister, and who have their own little milk business, with a strange guest on the upper floor. Yet still, Minami's search continues in this weird world, and soon he finds what he's looking for... sort of.

This movie plays out a lot like Audition did, slowly at first, providing a few "freak-out" moments to keep us on our toes, until finally the most disturbing ending I've ever seen in a movie. This movies thrives off the taboo and never really tries to explain itself, and though the "freak-outs" are a little more subtle in Gozu than they are in Audition, they are still enough to make you keep watching. One particular moment comes about half-way, and all I'll say is that it involves milk. It's probably the goofiest scene in all of Miike's movies.

What this movie doesn't have that Audition did was that feeling of reality (though this is understandable, since Miike's mind has obviously lost the grasp on this as well). Gozu is freaky, but not enough to have nightmares over, whereas Audition was more than enough to make a think long and hard on who we date in the future. Still, this fact doesn't take much from the movie, and I'd definitely recommend Gozu to any die-hard fan of Miike or Japanese horror.

Gozu (Takashi Miike, 2003)

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Takashi Miike has a vision all his own. It's possible that Yakuza Horror Theater: Gozu (literally translated, "gozu" means "bull-head") is the ultimate expression of that vision, for here Miike is taking his V-cinema Yakuza-thriller roots and combining them with the outright weirdness that has informed his later work.

Teaming up once again with screenwriter Sakichi Sato (Ichi the Killer), Miike delivers a tale of a Yakuza underling who is tasked with taking his insane superior to a "Yakuza dump" in Nagoya and have him killed. The underling, Minami (Hideki Sone, who'd previously teamed with Miike in the Jingi Naki Yabo series of V-cinema flicks), still holds a great deal of respect for his superior, Ozaki (longtime Miike collaborator Sho Aikawa), who saved his life on a number of occasions, and Minami is torn as to what to do. All this is a moot point, however; while trying to save Ozaki from one of his eccentricities, Minami accidentally kills Ozaki. Minami stops at a very strange cafe to try and get his head togeher. When he looks out the window at his car, however, he sees that Ozaki's body has disappeared. The bulk of the film details Minami's search to find Ozaki and see if he truly is dead.

Miike's work is often compared to that of David Lynch, and in many cases it has often seemed to me that the reason for doing so is laziness more than anything else; "David Lynch" is simply the first name that springs to mind when anyone is confronted with transgressive cinema. (I'll revise that statement if and when Lynch makes anything as thoroughly off the wall as, say, Visitor Q.) In this case, however, there does seem to be a good deal of Lynching, if you will, going on; the scene where Minami has to deal with the American woman whose Japanese is scattered at best could have come right out of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. That said, while there is a David Lynch atmosphere to the movie, as usual, Miike goes so far into the transgressive world that Lynch would be hard-pressed to keep up, especially in the current American atmosphere of "I only want to see what I've already seen." If anything, Lynch is a sprinkling on top of a deeper compairson to the later films of Luis Bunuel here; Miike's almost complete detachment with reality, while keeping a completely realistic tone with the camerawork, especially recalls That Obscure Object of Desire, though the tone here is considerably darker.

Gozu is absolutely nuts. If you're not already familiar with Miike's style from more accessible (but still brilliant) fare like Audition, The Happiness of the Katakuris, or Sabu, you might want to give this one something of a wide berth until you've gotten yourself an education. If, however, you've found yourself thinking "you know, Ichi the Killer just wasn't quite weird enough for me," then you're primed and ready to take on Gozu. ****

Not having seen anything but "Gozu" in what I've read is an illustrious catalogue by filmmaker Takasha Miike, I can't judge him solely on the strengths and weaknesses of this film in particular. It was a wild, riveting ride, with some unforgettable scenes (particularly the opening, in which a slowly deteriorating member of the Yakuza crime family murders a puppy in the belief that it is a "Yakuza attack dog", and of course the queasy "rebirth" scene of that very same gangster at the film's conclusion), and at times reminds one of a Beckett play (the man with the pigment problem reclining in the field with a magazine, the innkeeper whipping her husband to generate "spirits", etc) a Lynch film (characters changing identities, gender bending, scenes of the most cartoonish sexual debauchery), and Monty Python all at once. The problem, though, is that none of this means anything. Unlike Lynch or Beckett we can find no discernible meaning, not even with the most circumspect viewing, simply because there is none.

While I love surrealism, a movie does need to be more than the sum of it's parts, and "Gozu", for all it's nail biting scenes and undeniably menacing atmosphere, is only that. A member of the Yakuza family named Ozaki is killed as he is about to commit a random of madness by Minami, a friend indebted to him forever for saving his life.

From here everything goes wacky, and not in an unpleasant manner entirely: his corpse disappears from Minami's car. There are strong elements of Hitchcock here, too, but from this point in the film nothing really makes any sense, even in retrospect. We see a host of bizarre and stomach churning things: an inkeeper who likes to squirt her own milk rather than buy it from the store, handicapped Japanese people screaming about whether the day was hot or not. Meanwhile our protagonist is taken on a journey that is imaginative and surreal but, in the end, all smoke.

In the film essay Miike cites the influence, which is obvious anyway, of David Lynch films like "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive". There are definitely similarities. In those movies, though, as strange and dreamlike as they are, there is an ultimate explanation, or host of explanations, for why things have happened this way. Not all Lynch films have an "ultimate point", but those two did, and "Gozu" most certainly does not. This is more than enjoyable, don't get me wrong; in fact, for people of certain tastes, including my own, I'd recommend it. But don't expect a puzzle or anything to think extensively about.

...to the end of the rabbit hole.
One of the weirdest movies i have watched, very reminiscent to the work of Lynch.

if a japanese production company re-made "Doom Generation" and it was directed by Satan himself, it would be Gozu. this movie should come with a warning label: "danger - do not operate near pacemakers." As an avid fan of bizarre/trash cinema, I can't believe that I was actually unprepared for this movie. From the disturbingly hilarious "yakuza attack dog" smashing at the opening of the film, to the gut wrenching, and wholly disturbing "man birthing" scene at its finale, I can say with certainty that neither I nor the 4 individuals (one of whom actually vomited during the birthing) had ever seen anything even remotely like this movie. the plot is so disjointed that halfway through the movie I just stopped following the subtitles. I'm not even going to try to explain character relationships... all you really need to know is that the guy in the trenchcoat is looking for his brother who he was driving to northern japan to get offed by fellow yakuza members. after that it's all a blur of self milking, violent behavior and something about glutinous rice. I found it hard to believe that the most benign part of the movie is the cow-headed demon that graces the DVD's cover. there's not an astounding amount I can say about this film that would make any sense at all, or be fit to be read by the general public. If you watch a lot of the more left field japanese movies, you'll be able to appreciate this film, just don't expect anything serious out of the cow-headed demon. all he does is slobber all over the main character's face... then it switches over to some bizarre sibling lust shot that I'm still trying to make sense of. additionally, if you have any knowledge of modern japanese culture, you'll be able to see the humor and bizarrity in the situations this movie creates for the main character... if you have no prior knowledge of japanese culture whatsoever, you might just spend the whole 2+ hours scratching your head and muttering profanity under your breath as you give yourself a migraine trying to sort everything out - unless you're one of the people who sites "Pink Flamingos" as your favorite movie, in which case you'll just get a kick out of everybody acting like a lunatic and doing inexplicable, and disgusting things. Any movie that can make "Love and a .45" and "Doom generation" look like "My Dog Skip" is OK in my book. this isn't the kind of film you rave about and tell your friends they should watch unless you have the kind of friendship where recommending movies that make angels cry isn't a relationship-killer.... On a personal note, after the end of the film I just coulden't look at the gravy ladle in my kitchen for a while without getting a little sick and thinking about corn (well... I THINK it was corn. I'm still not sure). watch this film on a partially empty stomach.