Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano) is a sadomasochist yakuza, when his boss, Anjo, disappeared he believes that he is kidnapped and not dead. His investigation turns violent as he torture his suspects. He then learned of the killer, Ichi (Nao Omori), beliving that he is a totally sadist. But Ichi is not, normally he is cowardly. Ichi is hypnotized after he killed his own parents. He then turned violent everytime he is reminded of a false memory.
Ichi the Killer (殺し屋1, Koroshiya Ichi) is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike, based on Hideo Yamamoto's manga series of the same name.
The movie is filled of gore and violence. The story is alright I really thought the movie is about the "Ichi" the killer but it was actually about Kakihara and his sadistic ways. The actors were good, I really wouldn't see Ichi as a killer especially when he cries. Thier boss made me laugh as few times cause of the way he walks and move.
This is probably the most disturbing movie I've seen in my opinion because of the torture scenes. Seeing gore movies all the time doesn't disgust me as much anymore but in this movie I can't believe rape is isn't enough. There was this scene with the prostitute that they raped and tortured. The way they tortured her was just too much! Seriously...
But since this movie mostly revolves around Kakihara's quest to find Ichi, it made me a curious about Ichi. In the movie it is said that he killed his parents. I'm wondering if it's accidental or accidental. And how did he become that strong? I have more question about Ichi's past... Thank goodness there's a prequel! I'll go watch it as soon as I find an online streaming... ^_^
originally posted: December 3, 2009