Blood And Bones
by Yoichi Sai
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DVD details
Actor: Hirofumi Arai, Takeshi KitanoDirector: Yoichi Sai
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 144 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-11
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: KINO INTERNATIONAL
DVD Reviews of Blood And Bones
DVD Review: Drama and Violence Do Mix
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1923, a boat full of Koreans sets sail for Osaka. A young man Kim Shunpei smiles as he looks upon the industrialized city that will be his permanent residence. But as time progresses, Shunpei is cold, nasty and vicious towards his family, friends and the community. He raped his wife Lee Yonghee as he was visiting her and her daughter from a previous liasion with a married manager. The marriage between Yonghee and Shunpei is turbulent. He openly has affairs with other women and treats them cruelly. He is abusive towards his children one of whom takes her own life to get away from the cycle of abuse. Shunpei's son Masao narrates his father's violent life which never ceases. As cruel as the movie is, it is also a moving picture of how Koreans lived in a country that wasn't theirs and how they adapted to their residence.
Takeshi Kitano plays the character very well illustrating how a man with hopes and dreams slowly becomes morose and violent towards those that reach out to him. Shunpei's character has embedded into other family members like his older son Takeshi. Takeshi, conceived through rape, is bitter towards his father. His life has been harder than that of his younger siblings. He was orphaned after the death of his mother and is involved with the Yakuza. His life is short-lived because of his violent lifestyle.
Blood and Bones is not for the faint-hearted. If you can't sit through the violent actions, turn it off and watch something else. If you are able to stomach through this and get more than violence out of it, sit back and watch the movie.
DVD Review: Beautifully acted LIFE- Kitano's Best Performance
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is beautifully acted by Kitano who portrays an unwavering way of life of an outwardly emotionless man whose flaws are too much to bear for his family. Kitano with his masterful performance oozes out the depth in the character enabling the audience to perceive and make speculations of the sensitivity of the "Freak" and awesomeness of his well defined world.
Can we learn anything from the "Freak"? Regardless, I have to admit that his LIFE is pure in a sense that it was his own creation and he stuck with it until its end without wavering an inch. It's a consistent and awesome film.
DVD Review: Beat Takeshi, Kyoka Suzuki and Odagiri Joe in decadence
Summary: 4 Stars
I'll make this short and simple. The movie is well done. It has good acting and scenes that are shot well. HOWEVER, it just bothered me that the movie is so dark and decadent. The main character, played by Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano) is so unlikable. He's just an animal and causes destruction where ever he goes.
I'm a fan of actress Kyoka Suzuki and the actor Joe Odagiri, and I'm glad to see all of these great actors work together. However this is a film that, while it's well done, I most likely will not watch again for a very long time.
But with that said, if you enjoy stories of this nature and you enjoy movies with a serious tone then you may very well "enjoy" this movie.
Once again let me say, the movie is not bad. It's a well done film, but not the type of film that I would watch over and over, but worth checking out.
DVD Review: A good movie but unpleasant
Summary: 3 Stars
It is a well-made movie, portraying the bleak lives of early 20th-century Korean immigrants to Japan and the hardships they faced. However, the main character is a man who is so brutal and violent that he corrupts or destroys pretty much everything he touches, especially his family. No one seems to possess any redeeming qualities. It is a glimpse into the harsh reality these people must have faced but leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. DVD Review: 4 ? stars: An Unflinching Character Study of a Malevolent Family Man
Summary: 4 Stars
BLOOD AND BONES (2004) is directed by Yoichi Sai; a Japanese-born Korean who is also responsible for such acclaimed hits such as "Soo" and "Quill". It has been revealed that Sai had waited 6 years for Takeshi Kitano to star in this film of a truly dark character study of a Korean immigrant in Japan and rightfully so. I do believe that no one but an actor of Kitano's caliber would be able to pull this off. This is the first time in almost 10 years that Kitano steps into the screen under the direction of someone other than himself. This film is Yoichi Sai's breakout hit, and Takeshi "Beat" Kitano gives a remarkable performance as one; if not the MOST unlikable characters in Asian cinema. I kid you not.
Synopsis loosely derived from the region-3 Panorama dvd back cover:
In 1923, Kim Shunpei (Takeshi Kitano) left Cheju, an isolated island in South Korea for Osaka, Japan dreaming of making a fortune in a new land.
Contrary to his hopes, what was waiting for Kim in Japan is a life of discrimination and hard labor. With ruthlessness and cunning wiles, Kim overcomes the obstacles against him to open a Kamaboko (Fish cake) factory, which before long is a success, bringing him the fortune he coveted for so long. Kim Shun-pei gradually becomes a ruthless, merciless loan shark. Blood and Bones paints an unflinching portrait of a man deeply bound to his ego and obsessions and the web of turmoil his wife, mistresses, children, relatives and all those around him are drawn into as a result of his brutal choices and malevolent nature.
The film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Yan Sugiru, it is a defining role for Takeshi Kitano. Blood and Bones is not a heartwarming story about a man who rises above all obstacles to achieve his fortune and pride. Shunpei Kim is one individual who has achieved all his riches due to the hardships of others. The first scene actually shows him sexually abusing his wife in front of his daughter, truly this is a character study of a malevolent brutal man who thrives on intimidation and violence. Kim beats his wife and children and even has his mistress move into a new house that he had purchased across the corner; a demonstration of his insufferable characteristics. This is a man incapable of any love or tenderness, his one driving force may be rage and violence.
The Fish Cake factory employees are also treated with abuse and disregard. When an employee asked for a raise in pay, his response is brutal abuse. His rise as a prominent figure in the Korean community in Japan is not fueled by accommodation and admiration but rather by violence and intimidation. When his Fish cake fortune grew, he expanded his enterprise to loan sharking. He walks the street with a big stick and mercilessly beats all who owes him money. He is indifferent to all except himself.
If you read between the lines and the images of the film you will see that there may be a hidden reason behind Kim's malevolent ruthless nature, it may be because he had suffered abuse and torture in Korea as signified by the scars on his back. (I didn't feel any sympathy or understanding for him though). One may wonder how such behavior can be tolerated. Unfortunately, the spirits of his family and relatives have been pounded to powder by this insufferable character. They feel that they can't move away nor challenge his ire.
As the decades past, we see Kim's family grow and his mistresses have children of their own. The film focuses mostly on Kim's character that most supporting roles eventually disappear through the times. The viewer can tell that the passage of time would occur with the birth of grandchildren, the appearance of cars and passing aircraft. Director Sai gives the film a very claustrophobic feel by immersing the viewer in the proceedings in a single street, which after awhile, becomes mostly occupied by Shunpei Kim's family and relatives. Six decades of the film's backdrop is compressed into 2 ? hours. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of the history of Korean immigrants in Japan so I cannot fully express the reasons behind the situation.
Blood and Bones is an unflinching character study of a single man, but in all fairness and honesty, it only serves as a backdrop for Kitano's fantastic performance. When one thinks about it, the character of Shunpei Kim may well be the sum total of all the ruthless characters Kitano has played in the past. Critics may say that the scenes may get a bit repetitive after awhile, Kim beats, abuses and uses through the decades but that is the WHOLE point. No redeeming qualities, no change happens within Kim, no realization of his mistakes, no conscience, NO regret and remorse. "Blood and Bones" is truly unrelenting and maybe even nihilistic at times. Shunpei Kim remains and stands as one, if not the most malevolent figures (if intriguing) characters in cinema; Japanese, Korean or Hollywood. This film can't be described as anything but "epic violence". This film is one of those that silenced my voice for awhile, and with the second viewing privy to this review, it did not lose any of its effect. I still feel no sympathy for Kim's character and felt a bit disturbed about the things he has done. Unfortunately, such people do exist in real life. Sad, but true.
RECOMMENDED timidly but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of truly challenging cinema [4 ? stars]
Description of Blood And Bones
Internationally acclaimed actor and director Takeshi Kitano gives his most captivating performance yet as Kim Shunpei, a Korean immigrant in Japan whose life is a disturbing tableau of cruelty, abuse and shocking violence. Kim is a despicable man who physically and emotionally assaults everyone around him the workers at his fish cake factory, his mistress, his estranged wife, and his entire family. Ruthlessly pursuing success at any cost, he wastes away his earnings while keeping the people closest to him in desperate need. Spanning several decades and adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel by Korean-Japanese author Yang Seok-Il, Blood and Bones is a fiercely beautiful film that exposes the raw brutality of unchecked ambition and greed. Winner of four Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay, Blood and Bones was Japan s official entry as the Best Foreign Language Film for the 2006 Academy Awards.General DVDs
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