City of Lost Souls

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A stylized and violent thriller, prolific director Takashi Miike's City of Lost Souls (2000) is set in the ganglands of Tokyo and pays homage to Sergio Leone, Quentin Tarantino, and, in a weird, animated cockfighting sequence, The Matrix. Mario (Teah) is the Japanese-Brazilian gunslinger fresh out of jail who, in a hilariously audacious action sequence, hijacks a helicopter to save his Chinese girlfriend Kei (Michelle Reis) from deportation. He must then secure 18 million yen to secure fake passports for both of them to make a new life for themselves in Australia. In a misconceived operation, Mario arrives at the lair of the intriguing Ko, Kei's ex-boyfriend--a self-assured, effeminate young exchange student--who is somehow head of a vicious gang of Triads. He's at the point of buying a consignment of cocaine from decadent, cold-blooded Yakuza gangster Fushimi when Mario's arrival triggers a shootout, with Mario escaping with the wrong suitcase. Now, in time-honored True Romance fashion, Mario and Kei are on the run from the mob.

Although visually tricky with some strong set pieces, The City of Lost Souls is rather hazy when it comes to story and characterization. We get little sense of the runaway couple as people. A young blind girl is introduced into the tale and there are romantic moments between Mario and Kei, but these feel like sugary palliatives to the bloodshed rather than touching moments. Better perhaps to check out Miike's Audition, a brilliantly gruesome satire on male Japanese attitudes toward womanhood. This is a flashier, faster, but less artistically satisfying affair. --David Stubbs

Customer Reviews:

Good Movie.......2005-07-22

Not Takashi Miike's best but still a solid movie. Good pacing, lots of action and some gore. Some animated sequences which can be bring the movie down a little. Rent it if you can find it.

good movie The City of Lost Souls.......2005-05-27

Chinnese against Portuguese,mafia,guns women,street brawls this is a wild ride of wierd Mike films has buetiful art direction and good cameria angles and will please audeances on dvd as did it in theaters fine and well thought out gem of a movie you wont be disapointed by this good film highly recommend

Beautiful Love Story..........2004-10-31

As my second favorite Takashi Miike film to date, it's quite a sweet love story amongst gratuitous violence and bizarre characters. In Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese, this is an ultra cool movie with a myriad of wierd Miike characters, drugs, guns and blood. You get the picture if you like the Miike, which I do...contains a ping pong scene which you won't soon forget. Remember playas, this is Takashi Miike here...my homie...

One of the cooler movies of recent years.......2004-10-22

It seems that when people in the know discuss Takashi Miike, it's not long before the name Quentin Tarantino comes up. That comparison is certainly not inapt, as Miike shares Tarantino's gift for showing viewers a world in which conventional notions of law and morality are virtually nonexistent. That said, "City of Lost Souls" is the work of a visual stylist who clearly stands on his own abilities. As one would expect from the guy who made the action classic "Dead or Alive," "City of Lost Souls" explores a dark underside of Japanese life filled with unsavory characters and violent happenings. Also like "Dead or Alive," the movie explores (though admittedly not in much depth) the interactions of different peoples in Japanese soceity, in this case the Japanese, the Chinese, and Brazilians. Perhaps most notable, though, is the presence of a high level of bizarre and even surreal elements that set Miike well apart from the action-movie pack. Of course, it's all filmed in Miike's skewed, frenetic style, which makes the movie distinctive enough on its own.

The plot, to the extent that one exists, centers around Mario and Kei, one of the more unlikely couples you'll see in a movie. Mario is a deadly Brazilian criminal who opens the movie by shooting up a bar in his home country; Kei is an absurdly gorgeous apprentice hairdresser who starts the movie on a bus waiting to be deported to her native China. That all changes, though, when Mario stages a dramatic rescue involving an assault rifle and a commandeered helicopter. While the relationsip of Kei and Mario clearly takes center stage here, it's equally clear early on that this is no ordinary love story.

It's after that rescue scene that things start to get a little complicated. Trying to get out of the country, Mario and Kei wind up getting caught between the Yakuza and the Chinese Triad when they steal some cocaine during a deal between the two sides. Pretty soon both groups are on their trail, meaning Mario, Kei, and the tight-knit Brazilian community around them are all in danger of catching a bullet at any moment. Making a bad situation worse, the Yakuza leader, Fushimi, is an unhinged sociopath staging a power grab, and the top Triad, Ko, is Kei's ex-boyfriend and still hasn't quite let go of her in his mind. So, to sum up, the Yakuza and the Triad are both after Kei and Mario, Ko is after Kei, the Brazilian community is soon after Mario, and Fushimi is seemingly after anyone who gets within shooting distance.

Naturally, Miike uses this plot and the accompanying explosive situation as a springboard for the expected series of twisted happenings and profuse bloodshed. Whatever this movie may lack in terms of plot or character development is more than made up for in sheer visual appeal. Obviously a gifted director of action, Miike also impresses with his knack for constructing the kind of set pieces that you just won't see in mainstream American action movies. Mixed in with the conventional shootings, beatings, and explosions are such decidedly unconventional elements as a cockfighting scene inspired by "The Matrix" of all movies, a scene in which Kei sets a guy on fire with some Vodka, and a ping-pong match with deadly consequences for one of the participants. Better yet, much like "Dead Or Alive," the movie hits its climax with a frenetic, shoot-'em-up finale that's sort of like a miniature version of one of John Woo's legendary denouements.

In the end, while it is a bit shallow, "City of Lost Souls" is a more than sufficiently entertaining film for those into the genre. Miike's highly caffeinated, stylish direction is perfect for those with short attention spans, and the whole movie makes a brilliant piece of eye candy. It may not be great, but it looks great, and that's plenty close enough. Any movie with this many cool shots and bullets flying around is worth checking out.

Fun film.......2004-06-26

To me this would be the most overlooked Takashi Miike film. Or to say that's it's more overlooked of his region-1 DVD releases.

This film is nothing like i've ever seen done. It takes multiple languages/cultures and clashes them in a funny, violent and all around fun film. The characters are kinda cartoonish but they all have a dark edge to them. The lead man Mario (played by japanese-brazilian porno star Teah) barely speaks thoughout the film but he has some sorta superhuman edge to him. The story here is that Mario just got outta jail and his woman Kei is risking deportation so after crashing the deportation bus and killing a few people he gets Kei, not before they envelop a plan to rip off some coke from a yakuza/triad/russian mob connection. Yeah it's confusing but easy to follow. The soundtrack is awesome, with some punkish tunes to fit the mood and more mellow songs to fit that mood. It all works well. There is violence, and lots of it, a few quick but awesome shootouts and some bloodier goings on but not as brutal as other Miike films (DOA for one). The acting is good, but like I said it's a bit cartoonish and over-the-top at times. The ending is well.... A letdown in terms of quality. But this is still a great film, with lotsa style (a CG chicken cockfight for one term), humor (a midget, slapstick humor) and just plain fun.

Description

Audition: A shy, middle-aged widower, Aoyama, decides to chose his new wife by holding a phony audition for a nonexistent film. He falls for the demure and alluring Asami (Japanese fashion model Eihi Shiina), a former ballerina with a suspect past. Their polite timid courtship takes a 180-degree turn when Asami, trumping the stereotype of the submissive Asian woman, visits her revenge on Aoyama in the most nightmarish of ways. The film morphs from romance to psycho-thriller in the bat of a pierced eyelid. City of Lost Souls: Japanese-Brazilian Mario ( Teah, Dead or Alive 2) and Chinese hairdresser Kei (Michelle Reis, Fallen Angels) are lovers. They need cash for passports and bribes in order to stow away on a ship headed for a foreign country. Even though they are risking their lives, they hatch a wild plot to steal the money during a drug deal between the Chinese Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza. During the fight that ensues, Mario manages to steal cocaine to sell, but he ends up with a bigger problem - in the scuffle, Kei is captured by the Yakuza. In the climatic battle, Mario will have to fight harder than ever before to rescue Kei and gain freedom and happiness for both of them. Happiness of the Katakuris: A mind-bending change of pace for the enfant terrible director Takeshi Miike (Auditiion, Dead or Alive, City of Lost Souls), The Happiness of the Katakuris is a cheerfully grotesque, anything goes musical comedy about a quaint family-run inn, where all the guests seem to die in bizarre fashion after checking in. Miike throws hilarious surreal claymation into the mix, along with a delusional secret agent and a host of karaoke-style musical numbers.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Box Set.......2005-07-22

Audition is definetly the best of these three. Some gore towards the end but overall not as graphic as many japanese horror films. Nice plot and some scary moments lead up to a nice ending. City of Lost Souls is a decent movie with some humorous scenes. Violent and fast paced. Another good ending. Finally Happiness of the Katakuris is a big laugh unto itself. A musical horror comedy if that is imaginable. Overall this box set is a good sampling of Takashi Miike movies and clearly shows three very different styles.

WOW!!!.......2004-11-02

This film is very disturbing, even for a former Army Sniper! Not many movies truley disturb me, some are disgusting (blood and guts) some are scary (Boo!) but this one is almost a snuff film. I wouldn't give it 5 stars because its really unsettling and not everyone should watch this movie. I ran out and saw it after seeing a few clips on Bravo and I will buy it now.

People think American's are sick, but this (and Unit 731 and Bataan...) may make people think twice.

Average customer rating:

Good Movie
good movie The City of Lost Souls
Beautiful Love Story...
One of the cooler movies of recent years
Fun film

The City of Lost Souls
Starring: Teah , Michelle Reis , Patricia Manterola , Mitsuhiro Oikawa , and Koji Kikkawa
Director: Takashi Miike
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005RYA2
Release Date: 2001-12-04

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Good Movie.......2005-07-22

Not Takashi Miike's best but still a solid movie. Good pacing, lots of action and some gore. Some animated sequences which can be bring the movie down a little. Rent it if you can find it.

good movie The City of Lost Souls.......2005-05-27

Beautiful Love Story..........2004-10-31

One of the cooler movies of recent years.......2004-10-22

Fun film.......2004-06-26

To me this would be the most overlooked Takashi Miike film. Or to say that's it's more overlooked of his region-1 DVD releases.

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Good Movie.......2005-07-22

Not Takashi Miike's best but still a solid movie. Good pacing, lots of action and some gore. Some animated sequences which can be bring the movie down a little. Rent it if you can find it.

good movie The City of Lost Souls.......2005-05-27

Beautiful Love Story..........2004-10-31

One of the cooler movies of recent years.......2004-10-22

Fun film.......2004-06-26

To me this would be the most overlooked Takashi Miike film. Or to say that's it's more overlooked of his region-1 DVD releases.

Recommended.

DVD:

DVD

DVD