This is cult filmmaking gone wild.
Sure, Takashi Miike certainly isn't a legend yet, but he's certainly on the right track with a movie like BIZITA Q (aka. VISITOR Q).
So, what's the deal with this story about a guy who shags his daughter in the opening ten minutes? Good question, glad you asked. This film is the extremist, Japanese version of the dysfunctional family.
Dysfunctional (to the Americans) = Mommy drinks, Daddy is abusive, little Jimmy is a loner, and Bessy-Sue is a goth.
Nicely done, America, but Miike doesn't play that way.
The Yamazaki family has fallen on hard times, like most families, but their period of hell is pretty far beyond the typical. Takuya (the son) is a constantly bullied kid who in turn must vent his frustrations on his mother, Keiko, through violence. He beats her black and blue simply because she is the only thing that is below him. In turn, Keiko has to ease the pain by using heroine. Problem: Dad got fired from his reporter job and he was the only moneymaker. Solution: Prostitution. Miki (the daughter) can't stand living with her messed up family and has decided to hit the streets and become a prostitute, just like mommy. Kiyoshi, the father, still yearns to be a reporter but his fascination with teenage culture (which got him fired in the first place) continues to drive him into disturbing situations. Hence the opening of the film.
Still with us? Ok, so you're probably noticeably disturbed by all of this if you've made it this far. That's understandable. However, this isn't a completely sicky kind of film. In wanting to mesh the controversial with the approvable, Miike introduces the character of the Visitor. Now, this dude is really irrational. Unlike the Yamazaki's, the Visitor is a person who is completely free with everything that he does. Indeed, we are never given a reason for why he is the way that he is. Instead, he just IS. By that, I mean he is a whirlwind force that drops on the family and instead of dragging them deeper through hell, the Visitor makes all of their lives better. He actually ends up bringing the family back together.
Now, I know you're saying, "WTF, that's just silly." And if you're saying that then I must say goodbye. Because the means with which the visitor brings the family together are beyond questionable, in fact, it makes for an interesting comment on the Yamazaki family's situation. The Visitor's methods range from deplorable to just plain cruel and it's amazing to watch his destructive behaviour actually mend this broken family. It's like the opposite of "Two Wrongs don't make a right" and herein lies the genius of the film. It's great to watch the family grow closer and closer together as the crimes go from assault, to murder, to rape, to slaughtering with the Yamazaki's growing closer together throughout.
What makes this a black comedy? Well, Miike did it the old fashioned Elizabethan way. Tragedy usually has a character going from a good place (having much respect and even wealth) to a bad place (being disgraced or dying; or both). Comedy, on the other hand, starts off at a low but ends up in a high. Suffice it to say, the Yamazaki's end up in that better place it's just that some people had to pay in order for them to get there.
Finally a nice, family drama for adults and sickos. I know I'm one but I'm not sure which.
Go watch this movie and help me figure it out.
Sure, Takashi Miike certainly isn't a legend yet, but he's certainly on the right track with a movie like BIZITA Q (aka. VISITOR Q).
So, what's the deal with this story about a guy who shags his daughter in the opening ten minutes? Good question, glad you asked. This film is the extremist, Japanese version of the dysfunctional family.
Dysfunctional (to the Americans) = Mommy drinks, Daddy is abusive, little Jimmy is a loner, and Bessy-Sue is a goth.
Nicely done, America, but Miike doesn't play that way.
The Yamazaki family has fallen on hard times, like most families, but their period of hell is pretty far beyond the typical. Takuya (the son) is a constantly bullied kid who in turn must vent his frustrations on his mother, Keiko, through violence. He beats her black and blue simply because she is the only thing that is below him. In turn, Keiko has to ease the pain by using heroine. Problem: Dad got fired from his reporter job and he was the only moneymaker. Solution: Prostitution. Miki (the daughter) can't stand living with her messed up family and has decided to hit the streets and become a prostitute, just like mommy. Kiyoshi, the father, still yearns to be a reporter but his fascination with teenage culture (which got him fired in the first place) continues to drive him into disturbing situations. Hence the opening of the film.
Still with us? Ok, so you're probably noticeably disturbed by all of this if you've made it this far. That's understandable. However, this isn't a completely sicky kind of film. In wanting to mesh the controversial with the approvable, Miike introduces the character of the Visitor. Now, this dude is really irrational. Unlike the Yamazaki's, the Visitor is a person who is completely free with everything that he does. Indeed, we are never given a reason for why he is the way that he is. Instead, he just IS. By that, I mean he is a whirlwind force that drops on the family and instead of dragging them deeper through hell, the Visitor makes all of their lives better. He actually ends up bringing the family back together.
Now, I know you're saying, "WTF, that's just silly." And if you're saying that then I must say goodbye. Because the means with which the visitor brings the family together are beyond questionable, in fact, it makes for an interesting comment on the Yamazaki family's situation. The Visitor's methods range from deplorable to just plain cruel and it's amazing to watch his destructive behaviour actually mend this broken family. It's like the opposite of "Two Wrongs don't make a right" and herein lies the genius of the film. It's great to watch the family grow closer and closer together as the crimes go from assault, to murder, to rape, to slaughtering with the Yamazaki's growing closer together throughout.
What makes this a black comedy? Well, Miike did it the old fashioned Elizabethan way. Tragedy usually has a character going from a good place (having much respect and even wealth) to a bad place (being disgraced or dying; or both). Comedy, on the other hand, starts off at a low but ends up in a high. Suffice it to say, the Yamazaki's end up in that better place it's just that some people had to pay in order for them to get there.
Finally a nice, family drama for adults and sickos. I know I'm one but I'm not sure which.
Go watch this movie and help me figure it out.