Bullet Ballet (1998)

Sadly Over-hyped

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Tsukamoto's "experimental entertainment" vacillates wildly between kinetic, pulse-pounding powerhouses (TETSUO, TETSUO II: THE BODY HAMMER, TOKYO FIST) and sometimes plodding- if not downright sleep-inducing- cinema (GEMINI, A SNAKE OF JUNE, VITAL). BULLET BALLET falls somewhere between these two extremes. There are too few of the patented strobing, kaleidoscopic sequences that have made Tsukamoto such a dynamic director for this to be considered one of his best; still, the scene where he brands himself with a hot iron before pistol-whipping himself into a killing frenzy is the kind of semi-sensual cinematic savagery that he does best and it singlehandedly saves this one.

Goda seems to be having a pretty good life. He is a successful television commercial maker who seems to be quite and demand. Also he has had a steady relationship with his long time girlfriend for ten years. However, one night while he is out having a drink, his girlfriend commits suicide. It soon becomes evident that his girlfriend had close ties with the underworld and had somehow acquired a pistol which she used to end her life.Although suffering a horrible tragedy, Goda seems to be in control of himself, and his co-workers seem to think that he is actually doing better despite the fact that his girlfriend committed suicide. However, this is not quite the case. Goda is seething underneath, wondering how his girlfriend got a hold of the pistol and he soon becomes obsessed with acquiring the gun like the one his girlfriend used to kill herself. This draws Goda into the underworld himself and he seeks the help oh yakuza members and foreign crime elements to attain his desired possession. However, because he is unsuccessful, Goda makes his own gun.While creating his gun, Goda intentionally encounters members of the gang his girlfriend had been associated with. These members include Goto, a gang kid with long sideburns who is looking to enter the business world, Idei a club owner and leader of the gang who has a serious acid habit, and Chisato a short haired, leather skirt sporting waif who acts as bait for johns whom the male gang members beat up and rob. However, it is interesting to note it seems Goda has had run ins with the gang before and he even has a scar where Chisato bit him quite deeply when he pulled her away when she came dangerously close to being hit by a subway. These characters develop quite an odd relationship with each other in only ways Tsukamoto could create.This is quite a good film and Tsukamoto does a wonderful job of being Goda. He seems far more dangerous than the gang members and almost emotionless at some points. Mano Kirina is also quite sexy in a sleazy kind of way. This film was quite difficult for me at some moments though because I could not quite figure out how the threads were woven together at some moments, but the film is well worth a watch or two.

First off, those expecting the David Lynch-on-Angel Dust style of the 1st Tetsuo movie and Tokyo Fist will probably be disappointed. Like Tokyo Fist, this is Shinya Tsukamoto at his most personal and heartbreaking. I saw this film at the Montreal FantAsia festival and came out puzzled by what I saw. Here I was, expecting Tsukamoto to cut loose again...and this movie was, by the standards of his earlier work, relatively calm. I'd compare it to Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" in that people will soon be hailing this one as a masterpiece.The film is the story of two people linked together by ideals and tragedy. Tsuda is a director of commercials who is heartbroken by the suicide of his fiancee for mysterious reasons. He soon develops a fascination with guns. Later on, we meet Chisato, a young woman who is the driving force behind a gang of Japanese toughs. Tsuda forms a bond with Chisato through multiple encounters with the gangs. Whereas the other members of the gang are middle-class kids looking for fun, Chisato has a death wish and a suicidal streak which propels her to violence.Here's hoping that Bullet Ballet gets released soon, as it is technically perfect as well as emotionally dead-on.

As a huge fan of Tsukamoto I was very excited when I finally got hold of a copy of this film, subtitled and widescreen - too bad that it turned out to be a real disappointment. Tsukamoto has gone back to black and white for this film and as a result the film suffers when compared to 'Tokyo Fist' or 'Tetsuo II'. The initial idea (about a man trying to get hold of a gun) is good and Tsukamoto handles things well, with his trademark wobbly camera and multiple jump cuts, but the film just loses its way about half way through and starts to drag. A pity, but I'm still looking forward to 'Gemini'...