Review of Branded to Kill (1967) by Augusto A — 07 Sep 2009

I tend to get annoyed by surrealistic narratives, and it was no different with this one. It's not that I don't understand what the filmmaker is trying to say or that I need everything to be spelled out for me to enjoy a movie, It's just that it's a style I usually find very tiresome, like the filmmaker is purposefully trying to alienate the audience for no reason other than his own intellectual pleasure, often delivering the message in a far less subtle manner than he believes he is when a more simple and straightforward storytelling style would work marvelously. The very few surrealistic movies that work for me are the ones that manage to handle everything with a sense of humor and visual style. Luckily, Branded To Kill has plenty of both. There are so many original, gripping and well shot action sequences and imagery in this movie that I was still entertained a whole bunch by it. There were many moments when Suzuki lost me completely with his narrative and editing, but I was captivated by No. 3's existential turmoil throughout most of the movie and even some of the more surreal situations hit me as interesting ideas. I can't help but wish this story was told in a slightly more "normal" manner, and the movie constantly frustrated me because of that, but I won't say it's a bad movie.

PS.: What the hell is wrong with Joe Shishido's cheeks? I mean, the man looks like a hamster holding nuts in his mouth... Yes, he's a very cool hamster, but still.