FFFA: Ichi the Killer

This film is also showing at our sister cinema, Ritz Cinemas

Koroshiya

4K Restoration

“A masterpiece of extreme cinema, crammed full of images that push back the boundaries of what's possible – and allowable – on screen.” – Empire Magazine

With Ichi the Killer, Japanese master of gore Takashi Miike (Audition, Three… Extremes) brought the ‘Asia Extreme’ genre of ultra-violence to the mainstream.

The gruesome gangster horror-comedy follows a sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer, Kakihara, searching for his boss, only to cross paths with Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer. The ensuing cat-and-mouse chase through Tokyo’s red-light district of Kabukicho provides a delirious neon backdrop to Miike’s blood-stained commentary on a toxic subculture and the false promise of hypermasculinity.

Stacked with extravagant violence and torture, Miike’s bold camera work, hyper-kinetic editing and use of colourful CGI effects evoke the film’s manga inspiration of the same name by Hideo Yamamoto.

Festival Appearances/Awards
Toronto International Film Festival 2001 – Official Selection
BFI London Film Festival 2001 – Official Selection
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2002 – Official Selection

Screening as part of FLESH//GHOST//MACHINE: Japanese Nightmares.

Rating

R18+

Duration

129 min

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese (English subtitles)

Cast

Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ômori, Shin'ya Tsukamoto

Director

Takashi Miike