Violent Cop?

Background

"Violent Cop," Takeshi Kitano's directorial debut, is a great example of how sometimes lack of experience is a good thing. It was originally meant to be directed by legendary director Kinji Fukasaku, but after finding out that lead actor Kitano was only available for ten days, and not the four weeks he had been promised, he walked out on the project in frustration. Kitano jokingly said that he could direct it and producer Hisao Nabeshima asked him if he wanted to do it. His answer: "sure, how hard could it be?"

Well, harder than he thought. Having no experience of directing, Kitano wanted long, static shots, while the crew was used to a more traditional way of shooting. But Kitano had his way, and the long, lingering, static shots became one of the film's - and Kitano's - greatest trademarks, and something that would be repeated in his later movies. The next obstacle was the script, which from the beginning was a goofy comedy. Kitano, who was mostly know for his comedy act on tv, was afraid that playing a goofy character wouldn't allow his acting to come out, so he rewrote the entire script, making it a dark and bleak drama.

Story

Azuma (Kitano) is a detective, a loner who has a problem with authority and refuses to follow proper police procedures, often resorting to violence to get his way. In one of the first scenes, we see Azuma following a teenage boy who has beaten up an old man to the boy's home. He rings the doorbell, identifies himself as a detective and goes up to the boy's room, where he beats him up to get him to turn himself in.

Azuma cares for few things in life, but he loves his sister, who has just been released from from a psychiatric hospital, and who currently lives with him. During one of his investigations, Azuma discovers that his closest friend Iwaki is selling drugs. The yakuza (the Japanese mafia) kills Iwaki, making it look like a suicide, to stop Azuma from further investigating. Azuma, however, doubts that Iwaki committed suicide, and continues the investigation.

His investigation leads him to Nitou, a respected businessman, and one of his henchmen, Kiyohiro. Azuma, in his normal style, plants drugs in Kiyohiro's apartment, arrests him and beats him up at the police station, even firing his gun at him.

Azuma has finally gone too far, and he is fired. The police cover up the story, saying that Iwaki committed suicide, and Azuma's sister is kidnapped by Kiyohiro in an attempt to stop his private investigation. It does not work. Fueled by anger, with nothing left to lose, Azuma goes on a violent rampage, killing anyone who gets in his way.

Verdict

The long, static shots - a result of Kitano's fear of losing control of what's in the frame - transforms the camera from a camera to an outside observer. When watching the film, you feel like you're really there. Kitano himself, in retrospect, is disappointed with the movie, but for a debut - especially by someone with no experience working on a film crew - it's a damn fine effort. The acting is top-notch and Kitano especially is excellent as the expression- and emotionless Azuma. This is a film that can attract anyone from the action-fan to the person looking for a serious, contemporary drama. This makes it a near perfect introduction to Japanese cinema, and I rate it 4/5.