Review of Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) by David G — 11 Dec 2008

In Sukiyaki Western Jango, director Miike makes a fun action movie that explores the decades-long synergistic relationship between Samurai movies and Westerns. The film is not a remake of any one Spaghetti Western, but an homage to the entire style - with nods to Kurosawa (the godfather of spaghetti westerns) and Tarantino and Rodriguez (in many ways, the cinematic descendents of this tradition).

The story is the classic man-with-no-name riding into a troubled town, controlled by two fueding gangs. While is sounds exactly like Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars, the story quickly diverges and follows its own path rather than being yet another remake of that same tale. There are plenty of references to be found, my personal favorite being the appearance of Colonel Mortimers pistol/rifle from For a Few Dollars More, but make no mistake, Sukiyaki Western Django is its own film. It's neither a remake, a reimagining, nor a spoof... at least not in the Mel Brooks/Zucker Brothers sense of the word. The closest comparison I can make is that its an homage film, much like Kill Bill was an homage to - well, pretty much everything Quentin Tarantino grew up watching on Saturday Afternoon matinees.

The film is ostensibly a western set in Nevada, though filmed in Japan with a completely Japanese cast speaking English. This I assume is a direct evocation of Leone's films being shot in Spain featuring mostly Italians and Germans (and a little known American named Clint Eastwood). Unlike the Spaghetti Westerns, however, no Japanese accent is so bad that they had to dub over them.

The visual design of the film is an oddly stylized mix of fuedal Japanese and American frontier architecture. The costumes of the two gangs look like they'd be more at home in an eighties music video than either a Samurai film or a Western, and the score sounds like classic Ennio Morricone. The action sequences are mostly over-the-top in the style of Rodriguez' Desparado, with occasional hits of cheap 60s film style thrown in.

The fact is that this is both a bad and a great movie. It's not art and shouldn't be overthought, it's just entertainment. If you're a film buff who likes Kurosawa, Leone, and Tarantino, you'll love Sukiyaki Wetern Django. If not, you may spend too much time trying to find meaning when you should just be enjoying the ride.