Postman Blues doesn't fit neatly into any category, but whatever it is, it's terrific. Sawaki is a rather clueless mailman who gets mixed up with yakuza and as a result ends up being targeted by some equally clueless police who are convinced he's a runner for the mob. There are some terrific bicycling scenes including the ending, which plays like a demented western on wheels...without descending to cartoon territory. The romantic subplot is refreshing and the sudden intrusion of fantasy at the very end seems perfectly natural. Director Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka) looks to be a major new talent.
11 Reviews
Very creative and charming work
simon_booth11 June 2004
There is no doubt in my mind that Japan is home to the most creative cinema in the world today, even if it doesn't have quite the same mix of artistic and technical virtuosity that Korean cinema has been providing of late. Many of the most interesting Japanese films are very low budget, squeezed out quickly by a small cast and crew and often not even getting a theatrical release in their home country. But they have been drawing increasing attention from the rest of the world, eager to lap up the freshness and creativity so often lacking in other regions' cinema. There are certain directors that have practically become household names - Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miike and Shinya Tsukamato being the "Big 3" I guess (with Ryuhei Kitamura coming up fast). One director that has yet to achieve the kind of mainstream-cult success that he deserves is SABU (real name Hiroyuki Tanaka) - possibly because his films generally steer away from the kind of shocking scenes that gave many of his contemporaries their foot in the door.
SABU's films share much in common with Takashi Miike's films (in fact he may be most recognised as the detective in Miike's ICHI THE KILLER), in that they often revolve around the Yakuza and use their plots as a rough framework on which to build quirky characters and whimsical, sometimes surreal, scenes. But he has his own particular style that can be seen throughout his films - in particular he seems enamoured with people running - generally chasing or being chased, and most if not all of his films seem to revolve around such moments. Sometimes the "running" might be in a car ("Hard Luck Hero" and, I'm guessing by the name, "Drive"), whilst in Postman Blues it is mostly on bicycles.
The plot of the film is difficult to explain, as it's far more about the moments and the characters it throws up than it is about the narrative. This is true of most of Sabu's films I guess, which might explain why he often has trouble giving them a satisfying ending. Basically, Shinichi Tsutsumi is a postman with really nothing very remarkable in his life, pretty much letting time slip by. He's not even a very good postman, as he quite often doesn't even bother delivering his letters. Sometimes he does though, and this leads him to encounter certain characters in the film. First is his old schoolmate, now a Yakuza, then a sick young girl, and then a Hitman named Joe. These meetings trigger different chains of events that eventually come together and give POSTMAN BLUES probably the most satisfying ending for a SABU film yet. However, the ending is really not the important part of the film - it's the characters, their conversations and their thoughts and their little quirks that make the film very enjoyable and fairly stimulating for the mind. There are moments of absurdity that also make it very funny - it's the same sort of subtle/dark comedy that not everyone even detects in the films of Miike and Kitano.
I think I've seen 5 Sabu films so far, and the common theme(s) and style mean that they are all kind of similar, but all have unique and unusual characters that give the film it's own unique flavour. I think POSTMAN BLUES is the most satisfying Sabu film I've seen overall.
Unfortunately, Sabu's lack of international recognition so far means that it's difficult to find his films with English subtitles. His debut DANGAN RUNNER was released under the title NON-STOP in the US, but I think that's the only one that's had a legit English subtitled release. As usual with this situation, the grey market provides what the white market will not, and subtitled copies can be found on a certain auction site with little difficulty.
SABU's films share much in common with Takashi Miike's films (in fact he may be most recognised as the detective in Miike's ICHI THE KILLER), in that they often revolve around the Yakuza and use their plots as a rough framework on which to build quirky characters and whimsical, sometimes surreal, scenes. But he has his own particular style that can be seen throughout his films - in particular he seems enamoured with people running - generally chasing or being chased, and most if not all of his films seem to revolve around such moments. Sometimes the "running" might be in a car ("Hard Luck Hero" and, I'm guessing by the name, "Drive"), whilst in Postman Blues it is mostly on bicycles.
The plot of the film is difficult to explain, as it's far more about the moments and the characters it throws up than it is about the narrative. This is true of most of Sabu's films I guess, which might explain why he often has trouble giving them a satisfying ending. Basically, Shinichi Tsutsumi is a postman with really nothing very remarkable in his life, pretty much letting time slip by. He's not even a very good postman, as he quite often doesn't even bother delivering his letters. Sometimes he does though, and this leads him to encounter certain characters in the film. First is his old schoolmate, now a Yakuza, then a sick young girl, and then a Hitman named Joe. These meetings trigger different chains of events that eventually come together and give POSTMAN BLUES probably the most satisfying ending for a SABU film yet. However, the ending is really not the important part of the film - it's the characters, their conversations and their thoughts and their little quirks that make the film very enjoyable and fairly stimulating for the mind. There are moments of absurdity that also make it very funny - it's the same sort of subtle/dark comedy that not everyone even detects in the films of Miike and Kitano.
I think I've seen 5 Sabu films so far, and the common theme(s) and style mean that they are all kind of similar, but all have unique and unusual characters that give the film it's own unique flavour. I think POSTMAN BLUES is the most satisfying Sabu film I've seen overall.
Unfortunately, Sabu's lack of international recognition so far means that it's difficult to find his films with English subtitles. His debut DANGAN RUNNER was released under the title NON-STOP in the US, but I think that's the only one that's had a legit English subtitled release. As usual with this situation, the grey market provides what the white market will not, and subtitled copies can be found on a certain auction site with little difficulty.
Not the best Sabu but still worth seeing
FilmFlaneur29 January 2004
This film was Sabu's second, and shows many of this auteur's characteristic hallmarks: a concern with drastically ironic coincidences and misunderstandings, effective staging and a striking disregard for naturalism being chief amongst them. It was also the first time that the director used the excellent actor Shinichi Tsutsumi as his leading man. The actor was to reappear very effectively in Monday, Drive, and Unlucky Monday, his stoic face a perfect foil to the director-screenwriter's often bleak view of fate and predations of satirised Yakuza. Tsitsumi's keatonesque presence, and his various misfortunes, increasingly provide the centerpieces to Sabu's films. The weakness of Postman's Blues, to some extent, can be traced back to the fact that the dirctor has not yet found way to situate his hero best at the heart of an ironic narrative.
Most of the present film's confusions take place outside of the hero's ken. Until the end, he remains unaware and is largely unaffected by the game fate is playing with his life. It creates a dissipation of effect, and despite a number of marvellous scenes, it is noticable that the most effective of them (the initial passing of the severed finger into his mailbag, his delivery of the same to the Yakuza boss; some hospital scenes and so on) directly involve Ryuichi. Away from him, the film seems to have no heart: the humour occasionally seems forced, as in the case of the Olympic cyclist sequence, and events loses focus. Sabu has not made this mistake again, and in succeeding features his leading man is conscious of the events being set in motion an awareness adding immensely to the ironic pathos of his adventures.
For a the best introduction to the crazy world of Sabu, which often reminds one of Jacques Tati writing a Fritz Lang movie, the interested viewer should seek out the marvellous Monday. Having said that, existing admirers of the director who surely deserves a wider reputation than he has should see this, as Sabu's misfires are twice as interesting as most other director's successes.
Most of the present film's confusions take place outside of the hero's ken. Until the end, he remains unaware and is largely unaffected by the game fate is playing with his life. It creates a dissipation of effect, and despite a number of marvellous scenes, it is noticable that the most effective of them (the initial passing of the severed finger into his mailbag, his delivery of the same to the Yakuza boss; some hospital scenes and so on) directly involve Ryuichi. Away from him, the film seems to have no heart: the humour occasionally seems forced, as in the case of the Olympic cyclist sequence, and events loses focus. Sabu has not made this mistake again, and in succeeding features his leading man is conscious of the events being set in motion an awareness adding immensely to the ironic pathos of his adventures.
For a the best introduction to the crazy world of Sabu, which often reminds one of Jacques Tati writing a Fritz Lang movie, the interested viewer should seek out the marvellous Monday. Having said that, existing admirers of the director who surely deserves a wider reputation than he has should see this, as Sabu's misfires are twice as interesting as most other director's successes.
Works as a romance, a comedy -- it's a wonderful combo!
corridorhall9 July 2001
There's something in POSUTOMAN BURUSU for everybody: the romantic story, for women, about the postman who decides to date a woman on the brink of committing suicide; a quasi-detective story, where undercover cops try tracking down members of a yakuza gang; and a comical story, because they instead track down the postman since they think he may be their distributor, among other things. A light-hearted touch, involving the friendship between the postman and a washed-up hitman. Yeah, there's lots to find entertaining in this surprisingly flawless concoction of several genres by Japanese filmmaker, Sabu. What's great about POSUTOMAN is that the combo works!
The film begins, when Ryuichi Sawaki, the postman (played by Shinichi Tsutsumi), is caught by undercover cops, not only mailing a letter to the member of a yakuza gang, but walking in and staying there for quite a while. This gives the cops the idea that he maybe their distributor, so they follow him home. [NOTE: For the sake of plot-pointing, the mailman stays in the yakuza's apartment because they're high school buddies. They were just talking about stuff]
Returning home, they find him with bags of beer, figuring there may be other people inside.
Inside, Sawaki goes through a bag of mail he hadn't the time to send. One letter he finds, that touches him, is one of a woman, Kyoko (played by Kyoko Toyama), who has sent mail to her boyfriend that he hasn't replied to, and she's so lonely she's thinking about committing suicide. This prompts Sawaki to meet her, and hopefully change her mind.
The following day, after mailing his last batch of letters, he heads over to the Hospital where Kyoko is staying. He meets her, but only for a little while, she hands him a letter. He then meets a hitman, named Joe (played by Ren Osugi). These two have an engaging conversation on the lifestyles of assassins.
He tells him about a hitman competition he was in, and looks pretty confident that he won it. But as we hear his story, the judges were very worried about his health: he's getting too old.
Talking outside of the building, there are two undercover cops watching them from afar. Now, they figure the yakuza sent the postman to ask the hitman for a favor to kill someone.
Back at home, Sawaki reads the letter Kyoko gave him to send. This is about the time when he falls in love with her. So the next day, he meets her and talks to her.
Not looking all that confident about taking her on a date that moment, Kyoko gives a subtly sly speech about: "Not waiting to do something the next day, but instead, doing it now."
I'm going to quit plot-pointing right now -- I feel I'm saying too much. How 'bout some talk concerning 'why' this film is so good.
First of all, 'POSUTOMAN' isn't too timid about going deeper into the lives of its main characters. Particularly, the life of the hitman. If this were a Hollywood film, the hitman would have been younger and indestructible, not a "good guy," nothing to care for.
Sabu, working as both, director and writer, definitely gave himself a lot to work with, as far as making the romantic aspects romantic; the comical aspects comical; and the exciting aspects -- you know.
What made this all work, may be the reality of the characters. The postman is lonely and bored by his job, and has nothing to live for. So one day, he meets a girl who's going through the same dilemma, and they're able to comfort each other and eventually, love life -- and as seen in the last scene, the postman's only reason for going on (living and working) is so he'll meet her at the end of the day, as quickly as possible.
And the cops who are making themselves crazy out of the fear that there is a very dangerous man in their town, aren't that silly or cartoonish. These people are afraid, and will do anything their impulses tell them that'll extinguish that fear. [NOTE: This is all done in a very subtle manner, I might add.]
So, I think I've said enough.
Oh! The editing is one of the best I've seen. You'll notice this in the introduction of the postman character. I think I can guarantee that your jaw will be dropped for the duration.
The film begins, when Ryuichi Sawaki, the postman (played by Shinichi Tsutsumi), is caught by undercover cops, not only mailing a letter to the member of a yakuza gang, but walking in and staying there for quite a while. This gives the cops the idea that he maybe their distributor, so they follow him home. [NOTE: For the sake of plot-pointing, the mailman stays in the yakuza's apartment because they're high school buddies. They were just talking about stuff]
Returning home, they find him with bags of beer, figuring there may be other people inside.
Inside, Sawaki goes through a bag of mail he hadn't the time to send. One letter he finds, that touches him, is one of a woman, Kyoko (played by Kyoko Toyama), who has sent mail to her boyfriend that he hasn't replied to, and she's so lonely she's thinking about committing suicide. This prompts Sawaki to meet her, and hopefully change her mind.
The following day, after mailing his last batch of letters, he heads over to the Hospital where Kyoko is staying. He meets her, but only for a little while, she hands him a letter. He then meets a hitman, named Joe (played by Ren Osugi). These two have an engaging conversation on the lifestyles of assassins.
He tells him about a hitman competition he was in, and looks pretty confident that he won it. But as we hear his story, the judges were very worried about his health: he's getting too old.
Talking outside of the building, there are two undercover cops watching them from afar. Now, they figure the yakuza sent the postman to ask the hitman for a favor to kill someone.
Back at home, Sawaki reads the letter Kyoko gave him to send. This is about the time when he falls in love with her. So the next day, he meets her and talks to her.
Not looking all that confident about taking her on a date that moment, Kyoko gives a subtly sly speech about: "Not waiting to do something the next day, but instead, doing it now."
I'm going to quit plot-pointing right now -- I feel I'm saying too much. How 'bout some talk concerning 'why' this film is so good.
First of all, 'POSUTOMAN' isn't too timid about going deeper into the lives of its main characters. Particularly, the life of the hitman. If this were a Hollywood film, the hitman would have been younger and indestructible, not a "good guy," nothing to care for.
Sabu, working as both, director and writer, definitely gave himself a lot to work with, as far as making the romantic aspects romantic; the comical aspects comical; and the exciting aspects -- you know.
What made this all work, may be the reality of the characters. The postman is lonely and bored by his job, and has nothing to live for. So one day, he meets a girl who's going through the same dilemma, and they're able to comfort each other and eventually, love life -- and as seen in the last scene, the postman's only reason for going on (living and working) is so he'll meet her at the end of the day, as quickly as possible.
And the cops who are making themselves crazy out of the fear that there is a very dangerous man in their town, aren't that silly or cartoonish. These people are afraid, and will do anything their impulses tell them that'll extinguish that fear. [NOTE: This is all done in a very subtle manner, I might add.]
So, I think I've said enough.
Oh! The editing is one of the best I've seen. You'll notice this in the introduction of the postman character. I think I can guarantee that your jaw will be dropped for the duration.
Off kilter comedy is worth a look
dbborroughs19 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Bored postman runs into an old school chum when making his rounds only to discover that he's now a member of the Yakuza (and being watched by the police who take an interest in the postman as a result). Spurred on by his friends tales about living a life where your heart beats fast our hero goes home and opens some of the undelivered mail. He becomes infatuated with a young girl who is dying in a hospital and he goes to meet her, making the acquaintance not only of the girl but a hit-man in the process
This is a good off kilter comedy that was my first introduction to the films of actor/director Sabu. I've seen him in some of the films that he's acted in but this was the first time I had seen a film he directed. I wasn't sure if the film was a comedy or not so there were times that I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be laughing, especially with some of the darker bits. This is a very good little film, certainly the sort of film that would not have been made in the West where some of the shifts in tone from comedy to something darker are either frowned upon or not handled well. Is it a great film, no, the film is a bit too rambling in some sections, but it is very good. (This isn't to say the rambling is bad, some of the rambling sections, where our hero listens to some of his "friends" tales, are some of the more enjoyable sections, the trouble is that as much as you like them you still wonder where it's all going) Certainly it's worth a look for anyone who is tired of the typical comedies, even of the edgier independent sort.
Postmen were always suspicious to me!
bounty-hunter-Kabarakh2 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This movie features an annoyed postman, searching for excitement, a bunch of stupid and clueless policeman, thinking they are super-brains, a chopped of finger going on travel, a hit man tournament with a Japanese Léon, a cute romance with a cancer suffering girl and last but not least one of the best police chases of movie history... on BICYCLES!!!
"Postman-Blues" is a crossfire of genres. It is a hit-man-movie-parody, a slapstick action-comedy and a romance.
The movie has wonderful, absurd dialogs. The postman talking with a hit man on the roof of a hospital (dialog from recollection and in the original much better): Hit-man: "Girls like postmen, I should have become one as well." Postman: "And what are you?" Hit-man: "A hit-man. But I am suffering from cancer. The small killers are killing the big killer." [...] Postman: "How often do you kill in a year?" Hit-man: "2 or 3 times." Postman: "What? That is not often..." Hit-man: "Times are heavy. There are over 800 killers in this country." And all that with a face, as if they would talk about the weather :D.
Or when the policeman come up with their abstruse theories, and the others all nodding: "Yes, that sounds plausible." It is SO funny!
While the music perfectly accentuates what is happening, the camera always comes with shots that keeps us interested and curious. Furthermore this movie features a cast which includes so many cool Japanese male-actors, it's amazing. At that time many of them still fresh, now all acclaimed actors in the business.
And all of it is coalesced into a story full of ideas, which even somehow makes sense! Unbelievable and simply brilliant!
And the end :)... See for yourself!
"Postman-Blues" is a crossfire of genres. It is a hit-man-movie-parody, a slapstick action-comedy and a romance.
The movie has wonderful, absurd dialogs. The postman talking with a hit man on the roof of a hospital (dialog from recollection and in the original much better): Hit-man: "Girls like postmen, I should have become one as well." Postman: "And what are you?" Hit-man: "A hit-man. But I am suffering from cancer. The small killers are killing the big killer." [...] Postman: "How often do you kill in a year?" Hit-man: "2 or 3 times." Postman: "What? That is not often..." Hit-man: "Times are heavy. There are over 800 killers in this country." And all that with a face, as if they would talk about the weather :D.
Or when the policeman come up with their abstruse theories, and the others all nodding: "Yes, that sounds plausible." It is SO funny!
While the music perfectly accentuates what is happening, the camera always comes with shots that keeps us interested and curious. Furthermore this movie features a cast which includes so many cool Japanese male-actors, it's amazing. At that time many of them still fresh, now all acclaimed actors in the business.
And all of it is coalesced into a story full of ideas, which even somehow makes sense! Unbelievable and simply brilliant!
And the end :)... See for yourself!
Just about delivers
politic198317 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
SABU's second film perhaps doesn't learn from some of the naivety of his debut. 'Dangan Ranna' starts off with an interesting premise, though as the film gets towards its conclusion, it starts to fall off. Like 'Monday' coming after it, the idea is a satire of modern life, though by 'Monday', SABU had matured into a more rounded filmmaker, whereas with this 1997 effort, there were still some areas that required some work.
Sawaki is a postman, hence the title, bored of his life and his role as society's servant. Working late, he unwittingly stumbles across his former classmate, now yakuza, Noguchi as he performs that age- old yakuza ritual to atone for his errors. Noguchi tells Sawaki of how his yakuza lifestyle gives him daily excitement, which Sawaki has long since lost. Taking heed of Noguchi's words, Sawaki then drinks himself into a drunken stupor, tearing up undelivered letters, stealing any money he finds and reading people's most personal letters. Though unbeknownst to him, Noguchi snuck a brick of naughty powder into his postman bag, causing the police to follow him, believing him to be a drug runner. It's from this point that Sawaki's life gets a little daily excitement back in it.
The first half an hour is relatively dark with brief moments of laughter, creating the negative portrait of Sawaki's life and the role of the postman in society. It's all very bleak. Though when the police become involved, with their over-the-top and unfounded suspicions regarding his dull life, the film has a more mainstream feel, part- love story, part foolish comedy. It's here, much like 'Dangan Ranna', with the introduction of further characters that the film starts to become a little confused and, at times, a little silly.
I always find that the funniest films are those that are largely serious, though throw in light moments here and there to show that they're not taking themselves too seriously. 'Dangan Ranna' and 'Monday' are successful in being humorous in this way. Though in 'Postman Blues' there are more deliberate attempts to be funny, and as a result, the film is less funny overall, in the way that Kitano's 'Hana-bi' is more humorous than his comedy 'Getting Any?'
'Postman Blues', therefore, isn't quite as charming as SABU's other early efforts, though it clearly tries to be. His love interest in cancer patient, Sayoko, has moments, but also feels a bit clichéd with musical montages. The bumbling police and their over- imagination as to Sawaki's life, are a satire of modern society's jumping to conclusions without any evidence, though perhaps become a little too much, as criminologists are brought in to suggest sexual perversions and a possible history of murder. Their actions then start to become inexplicable towards the end.
Perhaps I'm being a little down on 'Postman Blues' though. Again, this is a film based on good ideas to explore, with moments of sadness about how the modern world works, as well as the odd funny moment and references to 'Leon' and 'Chungking Express'. 'Postman Blues' shows a filmmaker with ideas galore, though maybe needing a little more tightening in certain areas. From what I've seen of his subsequent works, lucky SABU is a director that can deliver.
politic1983.blogspot.co.uk
Sawaki is a postman, hence the title, bored of his life and his role as society's servant. Working late, he unwittingly stumbles across his former classmate, now yakuza, Noguchi as he performs that age- old yakuza ritual to atone for his errors. Noguchi tells Sawaki of how his yakuza lifestyle gives him daily excitement, which Sawaki has long since lost. Taking heed of Noguchi's words, Sawaki then drinks himself into a drunken stupor, tearing up undelivered letters, stealing any money he finds and reading people's most personal letters. Though unbeknownst to him, Noguchi snuck a brick of naughty powder into his postman bag, causing the police to follow him, believing him to be a drug runner. It's from this point that Sawaki's life gets a little daily excitement back in it.
The first half an hour is relatively dark with brief moments of laughter, creating the negative portrait of Sawaki's life and the role of the postman in society. It's all very bleak. Though when the police become involved, with their over-the-top and unfounded suspicions regarding his dull life, the film has a more mainstream feel, part- love story, part foolish comedy. It's here, much like 'Dangan Ranna', with the introduction of further characters that the film starts to become a little confused and, at times, a little silly.
I always find that the funniest films are those that are largely serious, though throw in light moments here and there to show that they're not taking themselves too seriously. 'Dangan Ranna' and 'Monday' are successful in being humorous in this way. Though in 'Postman Blues' there are more deliberate attempts to be funny, and as a result, the film is less funny overall, in the way that Kitano's 'Hana-bi' is more humorous than his comedy 'Getting Any?'
'Postman Blues', therefore, isn't quite as charming as SABU's other early efforts, though it clearly tries to be. His love interest in cancer patient, Sayoko, has moments, but also feels a bit clichéd with musical montages. The bumbling police and their over- imagination as to Sawaki's life, are a satire of modern society's jumping to conclusions without any evidence, though perhaps become a little too much, as criminologists are brought in to suggest sexual perversions and a possible history of murder. Their actions then start to become inexplicable towards the end.
Perhaps I'm being a little down on 'Postman Blues' though. Again, this is a film based on good ideas to explore, with moments of sadness about how the modern world works, as well as the odd funny moment and references to 'Leon' and 'Chungking Express'. 'Postman Blues' shows a filmmaker with ideas galore, though maybe needing a little more tightening in certain areas. From what I've seen of his subsequent works, lucky SABU is a director that can deliver.
politic1983.blogspot.co.uk
One of the best movies I've seen in a long time...
toodumbtopickausername21 May 2008
I know, it's a kinda old movie, but I recently found this in a shop and bought it right away. Of course it's always risky to just buy a movie because you think it looks kinda cool. But not with this one. I have to say, this is probably the best Japanese movie I've ever seen. It's touching, fascinating, funny (You don't even have to be Japanese to think it's funny (And that's mostly the case)), full of action and kinda crazy too. Believe me, you've never seen anything like this before. The story is full of little twists and you really can't predict any of the things that'll happen.
Of course it get's a ten out of ten from me.
People, watch it! It's totally worth your time!
Of course it get's a ten out of ten from me.
People, watch it! It's totally worth your time!
POSSIBLE SPOILERS! Funny, Cynical, Exciting, Deep, Original and Touching
anh_tu_the_cynical_enthusiast4 February 2003
Warning: Spoilers
This movie took me for surprise I was expecting a straight comedy but I was wrong. It's a great multi-genre movie with substance. This film is about a malcontent postman named Sawaki(Shinichi Tsutsumi) who runs into a high school friend while delivering mail to his apartment. His friend Noguchi(Keisuke Horibe) a newbie yakuza who is motivated by excitement and euphoria, "does your heart race like it did when you were a child ?" he says. Which makes Sawaki reassess his life and job. When leaving the apartment he is spotted by two cops on a stake out, who then begin speculation that Sawaki is a drug runner. And the story takes off from there. I would to state how much I loved this movie and it had the best bike sequences I've seen. Also starring Ren Osugi as Joe The Hitman and Susumu Terajima as one of the cops(Anyone notice that these two are token actors for Sabu, Takeshi Kitano and Miike Takeshi). This one of the most exciting films I've seen and has a great climax. Sabu(Hiroyuki Tanaka) is a great director. Too bad this has very little release worldwide. This movie is original and funny as hell, the audience laughed the whole way. WATCH IT
hmmmmmm........uninspired.
omloflump21 February 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I expected a comedy and found myself immersed in a predictable unbalanced piece of cinema....wait prehaps immersed isn't the right word..... Sabu really doesn't know what he's trying to make here, is it a comedy, crime thriller, romance? In my opinion this misses the nail completely in each genre he tries to conquer. Of course there are films that mix genres successfully, I'm not saying it cant work, but in this reviewers opinion "Posutoman burusu" doesn't. I laughed more at the film which, out of all the ones I've seen, I laughed the least at, henceforth this one. How many films do they make about the wrongfully accused? The romance element was tacky and short lived, those musical bonding scenes really pi*** me off and yet they are so overused in cinema, it's just a cheap excuse not to properly develop the characters. I am also sick of the much romantisised Yakusa films which I seem to see a lot of these days. The main reason this film is unbalanced is the inclusion of the sentimental violent drama aspect with the 'stupid comedy' aspect. Why would you have stupid cops who can't catch a guy who doesn't even know he's being followed teamed with overblown sentimentality when the main character is killed and he walks off to the afterlife with his cancer suffering girlfriend?? It's like combining "What's up doc?" with "Schindler's List". Aside from these criticisms, it does have some OK moments, the bicycle scenes were pretty good and some other bits were alright. The director has obviously tried hard to make this film and there are stylish bits that are well made but as a whole is just doesn't work.
Choose a genre Sabu. 6/10
Choose a genre Sabu. 6/10
The best movie of my year.
pazortegaandrade10 December 2020
This movie took me by surprise. My expectations were low, not because of their slightly low budget production or anything of the sort. But because I didnt watch a trailer or the genres for the movie... I simply let go of my pre-curiosity for things, and watched the thing.
I would say that for people that are interested somehow by this movie... OR ANY other movie for that matter, let the expectations, reviews or genres far away from you and adventure yourself onto any movie, you will have a good experience I promise.
I would say that for people that are interested somehow by this movie... OR ANY other movie for that matter, let the expectations, reviews or genres far away from you and adventure yourself onto any movie, you will have a good experience I promise.
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