Gokudô kuroshakai (1997)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writer:

Seigo Inoue (writer)

Release Date:

28 June 1997 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Organized Crime | Taipei | Puppy | Slum | Child Neglect

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Sho Aikawa	...	Yuuji
Lianmei Chen	...	Lili
Ming-Jun Gao
Jianqin He
Sau Leung 'Blacky' Ko	...	Whorehouse Proprietor
Tomorowo Taguchi

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Seigo Inoue		writer

Produced by
Tetsuya Ikeda	....	producer
Tsutomu Tsuchikawa	....	producer: Daiei

Original Music by
Kôji Endô

Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura

Production Companies

• Daiei Motion Picture Company
• Excellent Film

Distributors

• Artsmagic (US) Ltd. (2006) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen) (subtitled)
• Daiei Motion Picture Company (1997) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Tartan Video (????) (UK) (VHS)
• Tokuma Japan Communications Co. Ltd. (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• Toshiba Digital Frontiers (TDF) (????) (Japan) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Criminal Underworld: Rainy Dog (International: English title) (literal title)
Rainy Dog

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Mandarin | Taiwanese

Certification:

UK:15

Filming Locations:

Taiwan

Company:

Daiei Motion Picture Company

Movie Connections:

Features Gamera tai daiakuju Giron (1969)

Raining Cats and Dogs

The story centres on a failed yakuza that has been exiled to Taiwan and now provides a hit man service for local gang leaders. The backdrop is a rainy Taipei which throughout the film is hated by all of the main characters and is seemingly impossible to escape from (Interesting from a Japanese film maker). The hit man, Yuuji, (Sho Aikawa) has his life turned upside down by the arrival of his supposed son who is cast off by his mother, a woman Yuuji doesn't remember in any detail. Eventually paired up with a prostitute he meets along the way they are offered an escape from the lives they appear to hate. The story is brilliantly told both through a cinematography and script. The locations and indeed the weather play an important role in setting a mood and reflecting the troubled lives of the main characters. Yuuji and chen, Yuuji's son, (Played by Lianmei Chen) work together brilliantly. Chen is a mute but the thoughtful and pragmatic performance by Lianmei Chen means this does not hinder the empathy you can feel for the character. Sho Aikawa, although he has most of the screen time and very little script, plays Yuuji to perfection. This film is another example of why Miike is well respected as a film maker. The usual blood and revenge storyline is there, but with a plot that you need to see played out in full and characters who you care for throughout. It is an excellent example of how a film should be made to incorporate gripping drama into an ultra violent gangster movie. I would recommend anyone to watch Rainy Dog, it may not be typical Mike but it is defiantly Miike Gold.