Customer Reviews

Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is my favorite Japanese, although the subtitles don't really do it justice. It really helps to have some knowledge of Japanese to enjoy this movie- alot of the fun comes from the idiosynchracies of the characters, much of which depends upon how they use language. The character Yamada being a prime example, it may be difficult to catch the humor without some idea of what he's saying. That said, it does not require fluency to enjoy the film, but a basic level of Japanese may help/

I don't know what some of these reviewers are talkin' about, but I thought this movie was very entertaining. I thought the story was good. The main character is a cool fellow who ran away from his yakuza gang with stolen money. He ends up with the hotel girl who got in a car accident with the yakuza. Now the yakuza wanna track them both down. I thought the action was pretty good, it was bloody, and funny sometimes. Most of the characters are funny. The yakuzas were even funny ,and esspecially the nerdy assassin. That guy is too funny! The restroom scene and the robbery scene was the best. The ending was a bit dissopointing, but it wasn't that bad. I still had fun throughout the movie. This film got me laughing a lot. It feels like your watching an anime in live action. If you like Japanese comedies or anime, you should give this a try. Also check out Adrenaline Drive, It's kind of similar to this.

This movie had me in stitches from the intro. If you buy this movie in the hopes of finding a no-holds-barred action flick you may be disappointed. However, if you are a fan of movies such as Snatch, or anything by Quentin Tarantino I think you will probably enjoy this movie immensely. Most of the humor is in the dialogue between characters, and for serious, if you can put yourself on the right level you won't even need the action to enjoy it.

The action in this movie is not all that bad, and in my opinion, really helps the movie. There isn't a large amount, but that doesn't bring this movie down at all. The action there is is generally as entertaining as the dialogue, but the place where the movie really shines is the characters. The only one i'd have liked to been developed further is the main female lead; for the record, she is remarkably hot in the second half of the show.

I would recommend viewing this movie at least once; I actually rented it because of the title, and I wasn't disappointed at all.

"Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl" is a visually stunning and complex Japanese film (English subtitles are available under special features) from Director Katsuhito Ishii which traces its origins to the world of Minetaro Mochizuki's manga comics. The film is stylistically beautiful, and the photography is stunning. The story is rather difficult to follow and at times borders on stream-of-consciousness with a healthy dose of fast edits like early music videos were famous for; it is always captivating and Ishii definitely keeps the interest level high.

The two principal characters find themselves in an unusual relationship and alliance after Samehada (Tadanobu Asano) steals from the Japanese mob, the ruthless Yakuza. The beautiful Shie Kohinata stars alongside Samehada as Toshiko Momojiri, a complex girl with a deceptively innocent appearance. Toshiko saves Samehada's life by crashing her car into a car full of completely dysfunctional Yakuza assassins who want to kill Samehada for stealing money from them ("It's only 150 million yen!") The thing that makes this film a success for me is the surreal characterizations given the characters and the incredible skill the actors use to make the characters believable yet beyond the fringe. It's difficult to imagine the Yakuza as a bunch of bumblers, but they are so otherworldly that they become almost sympathetic characters, and supply an amazing amount of comic relief. The dialogue matches the bizarre antics of the peculiar characters and never ceases to be amusing, even when it's hard to grasp what's going on (which is the rule, not the exception.) I was particularly taken by the worlds strangest dinner conversation, and the discussions that seemingly come from nowhere and run amok from there.

My favorite character in the film was the inept Yamada (Tatsuya Gashûin,) and I absolutely loved the scenes set in completely unexpected contexts, most especially the abortive public toilet assassination complete with a unique a cappella musical interlude. I also took great delight in the extreme makeover scene courtesy of Japan's most colorful chair collector. The film comes to a close after a very unusual and unexpected battle in the creepy hotel where much of the film is set, and I will not divulge the ending other than to say it was dramatic, unanticipated, confusing, and perfect.

The film is funny but also graphic, and is as enigmatic as the day is long. It can be difficult to follow but is ultimately rewarding and entertaining.

Samehada is on the run from the Yakuza. He apparently stole 100 million yen from them and has no intention of giving it back willingly. While taking a brief time out to have his way with two women, they catch up with him. He winds up fleeing the scene wearing practically nothing. Meanwhile, there's Toshiko, who works at a hotel with a really creepy boss that has the hots for her. She decides to run away. She doesn't get far though as she sees a half naked man run past her on the road...only to crash into the two men who were chasing him. Toshiko decides to stick with Samehada since she "never wants to go back to that place." In comes Yamada, a gay hitman who's hired by Toshiko's boss to kill "her new man" and bring her back to him so he can have his way with her. Who will walk away with the money and who will be left standing by the time this is all over?

First of all, it is really hard to describe this movie in any way. There's so much going on and so many characters to keep track of that it's hard to decide just where to start. For a foreign film that's labeled as being incredibly violent, it's really not all that bad. There's some blood, but it's pretty tame compared to some of the other films I've seen lately. It has its moments where blood will be splattered on the wall, but you won't be seeing any decapitations or people's guts spilling onto the floor.

One of Shark Skin Man's strengths, that could also be viewed as one of its weaknesses, is its cast of characters. There are so many and each one seems to have his or her own personality and brings their own quirks and mannerisms to the table. There isn't one character that reminds you of another one in the film. They're all original and stand out on their own. Its weakness is that since there are so many characters that a lot of them get so little screen time. Samehada, Toshiko, her boss at the hotel(who is also apparently her uncle...ew), and Yamada all get plenty of screen time but some of the yakuza seem to kind of get on screen, do their thing, and then don't do much else the rest of the time. There are so many yakuza to keep track of and so few that you'll actually remember once the credits roll. Tanuki pretty much gets the most screen time out of all the yakuz. He's pretty much a bad @$$ with knives who likes to collect enamel poster ads. Mitsuru wears all white, is insane, has that awesome zippo he's always twirling around, and apparently has an amazing sense of smell and other tracking senses. Not a whole lot is revealed about Sawada. He says he keeps having visions where he talks to God and he used to be friends with Samehada. Inuzaka is a handicapped guy who's always carrying a bat. The beating he gives Samehada will be reverberating through your mind long after the film is over. The rest of them don't really do anything worth remembering or do something brief and wind up being killed off. Yamada is definitely the stand out character of the movie. He starts off being really annoying, but as he slowly reveals that he's more talented than he first lets on and winds up being a good portion of the movie's comedic relief...you wind up liking him the more he's on screen.

The film also has quite a good soundtrack that fits the film incredibly well. It reminds me of the Trigun soundtrack, which was really just rock music with a lot of awesome guitar work. The way it was shot is also kind of interesting. Depending on your taste in movies, it'll either make you love it or hate it. The movie is based on a manga with the same name, so I guess the director was going for a more comic style with directing and shooting the film. It really shows. I'm one of the people who love it and think it suits the film really well. It also has Tarantino elements in it as it jumps around in time a bit and the dialogue seems very Tarantino influenced at times.

Something I have to mention is that I think I'm convinced that any film Tadanobu Asano is involved with can do no wrong. He was amazing as Kakihara in Ichi the Killer and he fits the Samehada role incredibly well. He's officially made me a fan of his and I've gotten to the point where I'll see any film he's in.

So, all in all, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl is a quirky crime/thriller/comedy that any Tarantino fan should give a chance. The film looks amazing as the colors are incredibly vivid and the scenery is just beautiful. The cast is what makes the film as each one brings something different to the film. It's really just an oddball kind of film you should see for yourself.

Rating: 9/10

If you are looking for a shoot em' up blood-opera, this isn't it. There's no fancy diving through the air shooting, or jumping over a semi with a motorbike action here.
What this movie DOES have is pretty much everything else you could want. This is the first action film I've seen where I got to know the henchmen as people. The plot is good. The characters are all solid. The wardrobe is great, and cinematography is intense.
Unlike Hollywood movies, this film does not spell everything out for the viewer. Even on my third viewing, I was making connections to things that I hadn't noticed the first two times.
My advice to you is this: See it, love it, make everyone else do the same.

this movie is amazing. it's fast-paced, it has great action, it's funny, it's bizarre, and the music kicks your booty. if you filmed a gangster anime instead of celanimating it, it would be like this. when i saw it at a film festival 6 years ago, it was described as "a japanse pulp fiction with high fashion". yes indeed.

The film summary can be wrought by just about any other review, but I'm going to go into what really turned me on to this movie.

First off, the Japanese approach to cinematography, character development and dialogue are exotic and unique to me as I have been constantly plagued by watching crappy domestic films for this past decade. Many people might not like this movie because it doesn't revolve around aspects that they normally see in movies. There isn't alot of sex, but there is alot of sexual tension. There are alot of things that go unsaid that the viewer is dependent to draw his own conclusions. Some of the scenes might run on "too long" but I see those scenes as necessary. The general movie is fast paced, and the long scenes "where nothing cool happens" give a good contrast to the fast pace. It gives the characters and the viewers, time to chew on the situation. Again, many will not enjoy this movie. I loved it. Your loss, my gain.

I really liked this movie. it was funny and action filled. the characters looked as if they came right out of a japanese comic, which i believe they were going for. If your one of those people that over analyze every aspect of a movie and cant sit there and enjoy a fun film then maybe this isn't for you. cool movie!

Okay, I admit this has a lot of elements similar to Pulp Fiction (quirky, disturbed hitmen, a non-linear ending where a character is brought back to life, incidental scenes of thugs talking about funny random things, etc.), but a lot of it works (when the gay hitman and the Tadanobu Asano character meet in the bathroom, it's borderline genius comedy). Unfortunately, the pieces don't come together in any satisfying way at the end. Check out the very different but much superior Cha no Aji (The Taste of Tea) for a better outing from this director (also featuring Asano).