Review of Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) by Juan B — 24 Mar 2011
From Japanese director Takashi Miike, a director known for such controversial films like Audition (1999), Ichi the Killer (2001) and The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) comes this offbeat western, which is a bit like The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), but this has good humour, and it's a love letter to Yojimbo and Sergio Leone's films.
It's set in the small town of Yuta, Nevada (though this Nevada seems to be in Japan), and has a lone gunman (Hideaki Itô) coming into a town between two warring clans. The Genji and the Heiki, who have been at war for years with one another.
The Genji are ruled by cool tempered Yoshitsune (Yusuke Iseya) while the Heiki are led by the hot-tempered Kiyomori (Koichi Sato). Both gangs see the gunman, and both gangs want to enlist him in one another gangs, but the gunman will only offer his services to the one who gives the highest bid.
Besides, the gunman also wishes to aid a grieving prostitute get revenge on both gangs for the death of her husband at their hands. The plot owes alot to the Wars of the Roses, as both gangs are Reds and Whites.
Miike has fun in the western genre, although it does feel odd with Japanese actors speaking English. Plus, there's a cameo from Miike superfan Quentin Tarantino as Ringo. :P.
This review of Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) was written by Juan B on 24 Mar 2011.
Sukiyaki Western Django has generally received mixed reviews.
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