Hong Kong Cinema

Agitator

  • Made: 2001
  • Format: DVD
  • Region: PAL Reg 0
  • Release Date: May 24 2004
  • Company: Tartan
  • Length: 150 mins
  • Picture: Widescreen 16:9 Anamorphic
  • Sound: DD 5.1 / DTS, DD 2.0
  • Language: Japanese with English subtitles
  • Extras: Trailers, 4 page booklet with Chris Campion film notes
  • Classification: 18

Director:

Takashi Miike

Cast:

Mickey Curtis, Yoshiyuki Daichi, Hakuryu, Masatô Ibu, and Renji Ishibashi

The heroically prolific Takashi Miike is probably best known for Audition and Ichi the Killer, though with a ridiculous output of around 60 films and counting in 15 years these are literally the tip of the iceberg. Following in the long tradition of Yakuza pictures, Agitator is a story that he has retold twice in Violent Fire and Man In White. In this incarnation we find Miike in a more reflective mood than that which he is famous for. Those familiar with the more subdued pace of the Shinjuku Triad trilogy will recognise the style utilised here.

Plot:

A tale of greed, honour and revenge amongst the yakuza, Agitator concerns an executive from the Tenseikai Syndicate attempting to gain power by arranging for two smaller rival gangs - the Shirane and Yokomizo - to unite under his name. A complex story involving the machinations of the older yakuza executives in their quest for power, the film mainly focuses on Kenzaki Kunihiko, the charismatic leader of a gang that makes up one part of the Yokomizo family. As he deals with the fallout from the executives' plans of assassinations and betrayals, could he show that the younger punks of the yakuza have more honour and loyalty than the older men whom they follow?

Film:

Clocking in at two and a half hours Agitator is a more thoughtful film with a greater emphasis on plot and character than the flamboyantly insane offerings that Miike is mostly known for in the west. The great acting in evidence helps considerably in negotiating the complex storyline. The lead Kenzaki looks every bit the ex-catwalk model (Masaya Kato) he is played by, open shirted at every opportunity, which works against the gritty tone. Within the running time available, Miike is free to explore characters, giving us a number of scenes that add nothing to the plot itself but bring depth to the film. Agitator is chiefly concerned with storytelling above rushing you to the next action scene. Kenzaki and his superior Yoichi meeting at a bathhouse, Kaito dealing with his son's acting ambitions and the ceremonies of promotion of the yakuza executives are all such scenes helping to set the tone and add more to the relationships.

Having said that, this is a story you will have no doubt seen before, and while well told it does suffer from the lack of Miike's trademark flair which manifests only occasionally (including the out of the blue use of dynamite and anal rape by karaoke) and would help punctuate the subdued pace. An original cut of 200 minutes exists (though not in the UK) and it would be interesting to see if those 50 additional minutes would add or detract from the film.

Disc:

Agitator suffers from muddy visuals, blurry tracking shots and poor contrast with shades of grey in the numerous darker scenes rather than clean, solid black. This is likely due to the film originally being shot in video format as Miike has a tendency to do rather than a shoddy transfer from Tartan. In terms of audio Tartan provide a more impressive choice of 2.0, 5.1 and DTS tracks in Japanese. Extras are limited to other Asia Extreme brand trailers and a trailer for Miike's remake of Graveyard of Honour, originally filmed by Kinji Fukasaku, who directed a great many of the yakuza flicks that Agitator nods to. The four-page booklet contains two pages of notes by Chris Campion.

Overall:

Not the best of Takashi Miike's output, Agitator is nevertheless a solid genre piece offering a good deal of cunning manipulation alongside the gangland murders and will please both fans of yakuza pictures and Miike completists.

Ross

webmaster@hkcinema.co.uk