Thursday, January 28, 2010

Survive Style 5+



Survive Style 5+ is the best movie that exists in the world. You haven't seen it so you cant tell me I'm wrong. It was directed by Gen Sekiguchi and released in 2004, and it blows my mind that this guy hasn't directed anything else. Featuring an amazing cast that includes Tadanobu Asano (of "Ichi the Killer" fame), Sonny Chiba (international Karate man, and Hattori Hanzō from "Kill Bil"l), and Vinnie Jones ("Snatch", "Gone in Sixty Seconds", "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"), Survive Style 5+ is the kind of movie that could never actually exist until you realize that it already does.

In addition to being the most colorful film I have ever seen, the writing is absurd and whip-smart, and the story is fantastic. Half of the cast play either criminals or assassins, and although it doesn't feel like an action movie, people definitely get killed (sometimes more than once).

It's got multiple simultaneous plot lines (a man trying to kill his wife, a father permanently hypnotized, three best friends who might be in love with each other, a female advertising exec who dreams commercials, and a foreign assassin doing freelance work) that all cross and interweave, and the first time I saw it, I must have said "what the fuck?" at least fifteen times. Now it all makes perfect sense.

The simplest movie pitch I can think of would be—"If I Heart Huckabees" and "G"o moved to Japan and had a baby together, and that child grew up learning Karate, that child might someday grow up to have a feverish wet dream on Christmas Eve that is similar to the plot and aesthetic reality of Survive Style 5+.

You really need to see this movie. You could torrent it (if you are a thief) because it definitely ain't on Netflix, or you could buy it on Amazon. Shit, come watch it at my house if you want, but don't forget to bring beer.


Adam Okrasinski

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