[KFCC] Black Angel Review

Story: An evil Japanese crime boss, Goro Nogi, takes out a rival yakuza leader in an attempt to eliminate the competition in Tokyo. With money and drug control underneath his belt and an almost unlimited amount of muscle working for him, Nogi's syndicate is threatened when years later, the daughter of his rival comes back for vengeance in high heels, a black dress and double fisted guns in an all out vengeance fest sporting the name of "Black Angel." But deception and trickery ensues when all things are laid out on the table and the secret of her origins lay bare for all to see.

Review: "Black Angel" in many ways could be considered a post modernistic noir film. Photographed as if influenced by the sensibilities of Christopher Doyle's wide angle lenses and a set design consisting of seedy streets and neon lights all set to the electric fluorescent backdrops of Tokyo, director Takashi Ishii has in his hands a film that surpasses the Category III label and becomes much more than another yakuza revenge flick.

A promising note for the director is the amazing dynamics he gives his characters, not only for the main leads of Ikko (Riona Hazuki) and Mayo (Reiko Takashima), but for the supporting antagonist of Goro Nogi (Jinpachi Nezu). It's as if he respected them enough to give them a history that is portrayed quite fluidly and even in instances of doubt, you start to have the empathy needed continue your interest in the players that stand on both sides of the morality coin.

In some cases, it's as if most of the characters such as Mayo the Black Angel are walking dream machines due to the perspective shots of the cinematography, strategically using extreme angles and medium close-ups. Stretching and almost manipulating the exterior features of the each character, Ishii changes stereotypical facial appearances into lonesome demons in states of horrific claustrophobia. Almost all of the characters just seem sad, hidden by the reflections of inalienable truths they cannot escape.

One notable scene is the 8 minute long, no cut, thrills for chills action of Ikko's hysteria in one of the torture floors of Nogi's empty buildings. The camera follows her around in her frenzied state, attempting to escape her panicked situation but failing miserably. Nogi's goons are teasing her by kicking her around and ending her lost condition by rape. The audience is then guided into moments of excruciating sympathy and unyielding concern whether or not Ikko would get out of this alive.

It's interesting to see a rollercoaster of tragedy flow through this film. Tragedy in many ways could be a gimmick for an audience reaction or quite possibly an amazing storytelling tool that gives the audience a chance to invest some emotion into the characters, giving them a little more life than their celluloid counterpart. But what "Black Angel" does the best is keeps us in suspense all the while hitting us in the back of the head with the themes of honor, revenge and trust.

"Black Angel" isn't necessary an action film, but more along the lines of horror varied with mystery and intrigue and a little gunplay thrown in for amusement. Like most noir films of yore, Ishii takes us into the darker aspects of his characters and attempts to analyze them by hurdling them in a scenario that deals with genealogy and revenge. Though the film is quite interesting and enjoyable, it becomes ill paced and too long to truly appreciate the final resolution, but is still satisfactory enough to wait for the sequel. Director Takashi Ishii's other smash hit, "Gonin," was filled with the same visual feats and themes as "Black Angel" and it's definitely remarkable that he decides to explore the same themes this time around with a female lead. The film has some fun moments that almost seem out of place, but provides a cinematic experience that is intriguing and different than most of the yakuza driven films out there.