Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl (1998) // Promise of August (1995)
If you like girls, guns, gangsters, and bloody hideous (but weirdly fabulous) outfits - then you are in for a treat. Tonight, my dear readers, we have a double-bill of Katushito Ishii related madness that we know will melt your butter. So dim the lights and grab the popcorn, it's time to raid the Third Window Films Katsuhito Ishii Collection.
PROMISE OF AUGUST (1995)
SHARK SKIN MAN & PEACH HIP GIRL (1998)
Based on Minetaro Mochizuki's manga of the same name, SSM&PHG is a violent flick about on-the-run Yakuza Samehada. (Mischievously played by the absolutely gorgeous Tadanobu Asano.) Samehada has been a very bold boy indeed and has stolen 100 million yen from his syndicate; an act his Bond-Villain-Esque boss Tanuki (coldly played by Ittoku Kishibe) takes exception to.
During a high-stakes chase across the Japanese countryside Samehada crosses paths (or rather, collides vehicles) with pretty - but downtrodden - hotel clerk Momojiri Toshioka (ultra kawaii Shie Kohinata). Momojiri has been prey to her creepy uncle's unwanted sexual advances and has finally made a break for freedom. Together the pursued pair join forces and attempt to escape those doggedly hounding them.
Throw in a bizarre little troll of a hitman, a stunning black '81 Corvette, a hilarious sartorial montage, a perverted shrine worthy of Norman Bates, and a night-time Mexican stand-off in the woods, and you've almost two hours of pure escapism.
A massive commercial hit upon release in Japan, SSM&PHG is an arty, hyper-stylish action comedy dripping ostentatiously in a seventies aesthetic that is testament to the director's obsessive attention to period detail. There's also highly impressive camera work, a playfully fluid timeline, side-splitting visual gags, deadpan surrealism, and enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino queasy.
Featuring fantastic caricatures of lumbering gangsters (my favourite being the blond Mitsuru with the preternatural traitor-hunting nose), a special mention must be made to their costumes - the viewer is bombarded with a visual feast. Not only is everyone garbed to retro perfection, but there's the most outlandish mix of florals, silks, velour, animal print of every kind, tribal fringing, leather, pleather, rubber, crushed velvet, neckerchiefs, fancy knife holsters and ornate custom weapons.
Of course, the crowning glory of the wardrobe department is Tadanobu's own black shark skin suit and red leather shirt. Tadanobu imbues his role with his natural whimsical charm that belies the physical violence his character can dole out.
Wacky as this film is, it's a fairly linear story and does round back on itself in a satisfying way that ties up loose ends nicely for the viewer.
Not only is this world Blu Ray debut of this film, the special features on the boxset contain a world physical media debut of Ishii's 1995 feature Promise of August. Also gifted to us on the special features is a wonderfully in-depth interview with Ishii about his formative years directing commercial adverts, rubbing elbows at university with Ikki Todoroki, and "quitting the day job", so to speak, to go full time with his own film company.
We also learn from the Robert Edwards Video Essay that Ishii took great creative liberties with the core plot, how this film was the antithesis to other V Cinema greats of the new millennium, and how his background in animation greatly influenced his mixed-media style of filmmaking.
Perfect for fans of Electric Dragon 80.000V and Hell Dogs, SSM&PHG will delight (and excite) Asian cinema fans of all levels of devotion.
With this short, low budget road trip movie, in unprecedented fashion, Ishii arrives on the scene almost fully formed. Even this early you can sense his potential as a great director. Promise of August is a quirky, dark, and brilliant film centring around three young Tokyoites and their ill-fated treasure hunt in the woods.
Following a stolen "Marijuana Map", college pals Mizuno (Sanae Ueki), Morita (Tomoko Suzuki), and Mochisuki (Tomo Taniguchi) embark upon a summer day trip they won't forget in a hurry. Enlisting the driving skills of suicidal pervert Okai (Dankan), this odd bunch run afoul of a pair of tattooed, knife wielding bikers - with comic, and unexpected, results.
Set in the picturesque Japanese countryside, Promise of August is filled with unique framing and static shots typical of Ishii's later styles, retro seventies costuming, deadpan surreal comedy, a soundscape consisting of immersive nature ambience and a playful bells that at times borderline on eerie.
Proving that it truly is the journey and not the destination, and touching on themes of sexuality, friendship and loneliness, the viewer is treated to a weird and whimsical snapshot of one short day gone terribly wrong.
Perfect for fans of Zokki and Adrift in Tokyo, I'm only sad we never got a follow up movie to find out if the literal Promise OF August was ever kept! Boxset released mid July from Third Window Films so keep an eye out for that.
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