Tsumetai nettaigyo
Director: Shion Sono
Writer: Shion Sono, Yoshiki Takahashi
Cast: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka, Hikari Kajiwara, Tetsu Watanabe
Part of: /slash Filmfestival

Plot:
Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) is the owner of a small tropical fish store. His second wife Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka) and his daughter Mitsuki (Hikari Kajiwara) don’t get along and his life is not exactly happy. When Mitsuki is caught shoplifting, Murata (Denden) steps in and saves Mitsuki from criminal charges. Murata is a pretty successful business man and owns a big fish store himself. He takes Shamoto and his family under his wing, offering Mitsuki a job and Shamoto a partnership. Shamoto barely has time to notice how Murata takes over his life before Murata reveals that he is a psychopathic killer. By then Shamoto is in too deep and can’t get out anymore.

The movie mostly left me feeling confused. I’m pretty certain that the movie is screaming a message at me, but I’ll be buggered if I know what that message actually is.

I have to admit that I was very surprised by this film in general. It’s my own fault – I didn’t really inform myself about the film, I just saw that it was a Sushi Typhoon movie and expected silliness as the rest of the movies they produced. So, a hard-hitting thriller with barely any humor in it was definitely not what I expected.

But even if I had known what was to come, the movie would still elicit mostly confusion in myself. I’m not really sure what story Shion Sono is trying to tell. Are we supposed to root for Shamoto (who descends into complete psychopathy) or his daughter (who is a psychopath from the start)? Is he trying to tell us that psychopaths are the winners in life – until they get finished off by bigger psychos? If I knew what he was trying to tell me, I could explain more succinctly why I didn’t like the film. But fact is, I didn’t like it.

But it was a well-made film. The first third builds the tension nicely and makes for a great set-up. Sono lost me during the second third, but the third third, despite me questioning Sono’s intent in these scenes, really had me on the edge of my seat. A masterclass in building and keeping tension.

[SPOILERS] Towards the end Shamoto gets raped by Murata’s wife (who is assisted by Murata himself), then Shamoto rapes his own wife – the second rape of a man contrasted with the rape of a woman in a film at the /slash and the second time the audience laughed at the rape of the man (no audible reaction at the woman’s rape). What the hell is wrong with people? [/SPOILERS]

Summarising: It’s a film that deserves further examination. But I just didn’t like it enough for that.