Japan

Survive Style 5+ movie review

by Chris   ⋅   March 13, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Aman (Tadanobu Asano, Party 7, Ichi the Killer) is having a bit of trouble with his wife (Reika Hashimoto). Every time he kills her, even though he is careful to bury her body deep in the woods, he finds her well and healthy inside his house, ready to deliver him a night’s worth of frenzied ass-kicking. Kobayashi (Ittoku Kishibe, Zatoichi), a salaryman, has a bit of a problem as well. Due to an unfortunate incident at famed hypnotist, and self proclaimed Casanova, Tiger Aoyama’s (Hiroshi Abe) sold-out show he has been stuck believing himself a bird. Yoko (Kyôko Koizumi, Bayside Shakedown) is a sexy forty-something ad-exec. A failure in both the realms of love and work, her gonzo television commercials never seem to gel with her investor’s expectations. Then there’s the trio of burglars, J (Jai West), Morishita (Yoshiyuki Morishita), and Tsuda (Kanji Tsuda). J and Tsuda have their eyes on fun and profit. Morishita just has his eyes on J. Lastly, British killer (Vinnie Jones) and his Japanese translator Katagiri (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa), proud owner of the Katagiri Killer Service, are scrounging for work. They have a habit of hounding everyone, assassination targets and plane stewardesses alike, to state their “function in life” or suffer the consequences of the Briton’s lost temper. You may be asking, “What the heck do all these people have in common?” Well, to be honest, everything and nothing.

The story of Survive Style 5+ is really secondary to the manic chaos that plays out on screen. A reanimated corpse shoots its fists like mech-style missles. Yoko’s crazy commercial ideas come to life before your eyes. Burglars play drunken poker games with Brokeback-style knowing glances and a pumping club theme, “come baby, come come baby.” A tale of a rabbit with magic semen is played out as ballet epic prior to the Hypnotist’s big show. Random homages to Wayne’s World, The Matrix, and god knows what else abound. Vinnie Jones goes insane again, and again, and again. Taku Tada’s script is blissfully nonsensical, and in the case of Gen Sekiguchi’s crazed direction it proves endlessly entertaining. Every aspect of the film, from the set design to the music to the garish color schemes, is so completely strange, and yet so undeniably cool, you can’t help but love it.

But crazy visuals and nonsense storylines are nothing without a talented cast. Thankfully Survive Style 5+ has more than its fair share. Though much of the comedy may be brash and in your face, every performance is subtly nuanced. Little facial tics, as in the case of Kyoko Koizumi and Shihori Kanjiya, further enhance the many moments of hilarity. Asano is near mute for the majority of the film, and provides a lot of laughs through awkward silences and physical posturing. Kishibe’s bird is alternately adorable and melancholic. You’d think the guy spent half of his life as a bird-watcher. Sonny Chiba’s performance as an executive whose wife constantly calls for lightbulb-changing advice during board meetings is also quite amusing. Vinnie, well, Vinne’s just Vinne.

Though there are a few slower portions here and there, for the most part the laughs come fast and steady, not letting up until the credits roll. Sometimes films need no higher purpose than to entertain. This movie sets out to lay waste to your work-day worries, and when judged on that basis it more than succeeds. Though it may not be for everybody, Survive Style 5+ is an insane piece of J-Cinema that has to be seen to believed.

About the Author:

Chris Nelson has been an avid film fan since age six. Unlike other reviewers he occasionally goes outside and exposes himself to sunlight. He is also set to marry his wonderfully talented girlfriend of five years, the beautiful Kris.