Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

suchenwi I ended a week-end of Japan movies with Agitator (others were Drunken Angel, Ikiru, Memoirs of a Geisha, Letters from Iwo Jima, Sky High). Quite a package...From Miike, I had watched Bird People before, which I liked very much. Having checked IMDb and Wikipedia before, I was prepared for yakuza violence. And it sure was delivered - but in a way that keeps me wondering.The (often bloody, then again often quite management-like) power struggles inside the organization make around half of the film. The other half is a mix of seemingly documentary material (with too brief sketches of childhood and romance), giving some impression of what else is in a yakuza's day's work besides shootings. That may even be looking at a flower, or a child playing an electric organ, or spoon-feeding a tied-up prisoner. And such scenes tend to settle deeper in me than yet another blood gusher. The subplot of the noodle-delivery boy being turned into a yakuza apprentice, tattoo and all, was very strong.What surprised me (but then, I'm a Miike newbie) was the total absence of The Law. While in Bollywood movies police is a toothless tiger, but at least cruises around in jeeps sometimes, here it is just non-existent. A bleak world view for a non-yakuza, but still, this is a very thought-provoking movie.

Graham Greene Agitator (2001) is one of director Takashi Miike's grittier entries into the Yakuza sub-genre; having far more in common with films such as Shinjuku Triad Society (1996) and Rainy Dog (1997), as opposed to the more colourful likes of Fudoh: The New Generation (1998) and Ichi the Killer (2001). As with the vast majority of Yakuza crime dramas, the issues dealt with here include honour, loyalty, power and betrayal, with Agitator focusing principally on the two conflicting worlds of the Yakuza; with the sharp-suited crime lords doing business behind the closed doors of opulent boardrooms on one side, and the street level thugs who enjoy the giddy rush of excitement provided to them by their criminal existence on the other. As the film progresses the two worlds collide with violent and catastrophic consequences, as Miike reigns in much of his more elaborate directorial flourishes to give us a film that is, for the most part, sharp, realistic and entirely believable.At two and a half hours in length the film is a definite crime epic, however, whereas the implication of such a tag might suggest the grand, operatic elegance of Coppola's The Godfather (1972) or the intricate balance of characters and time presented to us by Scorsese's Goodfellas (1991), Agitator is instead a low-key and entirely low-budget production; focusing on a small collection of reoccurring characters shot through with an unglamorous and unpretentious sense of immediacy. If we compare Agitator to other Miike-directed crime films, from the neo-realist character-piece Ley Lines (1999) to the gonzo deconstruction of the Dead or Alive trilogy (1999-2002), the filmmaker has proved himself again and again to be more than capable of injecting even the most hackneyed and seemingly unoriginal of pot-boilers with a lingering sense of flair, style and imagination. In contrast, the low-key look of Agitator, with its drab colour scheme, real-life locations and use of hand-held cinematography may at first appear jarring, especially to anyone more familiar with his other, more surreal or experimental features, such as Gozu (2003), The Happiness of The Katakuris (2001), Visitor Q (2001) and his masterpiece Audition (1999).This contrast works surprisingly well though, taking a story and a theme that could have become very clichéd and melodramatic and instead, turning it into a very gritty, very human expose into the back-stabbing world of the Japanese Yakuza, and the careful play of power that takes place to create not only harmony, but also supremacy. The basic plot riffs on the various themes discussed above, with honour, loyalty, power and betrayal driving the story, while later we see the prevalent Yakuza themes of revenge and retribution as the film nears its brutal, blood-soaked final. For me, it lacks some of the individuality and sense of imagination found in my favourite Miike films, such as Gozu, Audition, Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000) and Visitor Q, but at the same time it doesn't feel the need to descend into exaggerated self-parody, like the enjoyable Ichi the Killer or the flawed Dead or Alive: Final (2003). As with Audition and films like The Bird People of China (1998), Rainy Dog and The Great Yokai War (2005) it shows that Miike is a filmmaker more than willing to blend his predilections for excessive violence and gore alongside an interesting story and intelligent characterisation.Agitator, for me, doesn't quite reach the heights of classic Miike. Too much of the narrative seems vague and the epic running time might be a potential drag for some viewers who come to Miike's work expecting endlessly scenes of jaw-dropping spectacle; but that said, there's certainly enough hear to warrant it as a recommendation for viewers who are already vaguely familiar with the filmmaker and his work. As I mentioned earlier, the low key directorial style suits the subject matter very well, creating a film that is gritty and completely believable, while there are some fine performances throughout (including an amusing cameo from the director himself, definitely playing up to his caricatured image as both a misogynist and a sadist), with the cast including a combination of seasoned professionals, Miike-regulars and newcomers with limited experience. Agitator shows us once again that Miike is a real film-making talent able to mix genre films with more personal projects, and able to produce intelligent, engaging and exciting cinema quickly and on a budget.

Jay Black Those of you who are familiar with Takashi Miike's typical fare will be surprised by how restrained this yakuza saga is, in comparison to the frenetic, ultra-violent & surreal Dead Or Alive trilogy, Ichi The Killer or the recent Gozu. This one takes a fair bit of time to get going and could have benefited with a bit of pruning, but it's to Miike's credit that it never becomes tedious. Although the pace is slow by Miike's standards, it at least gives us time to get properly acquainted with the characters. It can be confusing at first as we try to figure out which characters are affiliated with which gangs, but the director leaves us enough breathing space to make sense of what's going on before the sh*t really hits the fan in the final hour of the film. Agitator was Miike's fourth film of 2001, filmed in between Ichi The Killer & Happiness Of The Katakuris. It doesn't compare to the demented genius of either film, of course, and is not recommended to anyone seeking the usual insanity this director's name promises. In fact, the closest this movie comes to Miike's usual sick black humour is a scene where some gangsters terrorise a nightclub: the ringleader humiliates one of the clubgirls by repeatedly ramming a microphone up her bottom (shades of Visitor Q). Unsurprisingly, this character is played by Miike himself. In conclusion, this is a slow-burning, but engrossing gangster flick if you're in the mood. It's a good example of Miike's diversity & range (amazing that a film as carefully constructed and intricately plotted as this can be knocked out so quickly), but is probably best left to dedicated fans of this unique director.

zwitsal I saw this movie as the last movie during the Rotterdam Film Festival, and was positively surprised by a story of values, moral, and ethics in the Japanese mobster scene without getting top-heavy. Even though action can be slow by European and US standards, this gives the movie that extra vibe that you can't expect from the next Lethal Weapon.This could be a decent introduction into Japanese cinema, in the sense that it's not too heavy on the Japanese side, but still something a US director would never do (especially the slowed down shooting of one of the main characters leaves an impression).8/10