Cold Fish (2011)
Making films like
Suicide Club (2002),
Strange Circus (2005) and
Noriko's Dinner Table (2005) Sion Sono has become one of the most thought-provoking film makers in today's world cinema who often explored a large variety of controversial themes within his films that have established him as a director that isn't afraid to the push the boundaries of cinema to its utmost extreme.
Sono is a director with genius of showing a grasp of multiple genres when creating his films. Ranging from action, horror, comedy and drama--and in many cases a combination of several of them--Sono has developed a style of film making that has remain distinctively his, and with this latest film
Cold Fish, Sono has once again explores the dark, tragic and horrific sides of the human condition, a character study of an individual negatively influenced by his oppressive surroundings. But unlike his above mentioned other films Cold Fish isn't that much hypothetical or mysterious in story telling; it unfolds the story & the characters in an easier & straight forward fashion.
The story loosely based on the case around the true-life "Saitama serial murders of dog lovers", a series of four gruesome murders carried about by dog[breeder Gen Sekine and his ex-wife Hiroko Kazama in Japan 1993, in this film 'Dog' has been changed to fish and a significant number of other details have been altered as far I've read in the articles.
The film slowly explores a shattering downfall to the human psyche as one continually views or assist in homicidal actions--which provide a relatively genuine look into how such exposure can turn a simple individual into a monstrous force of destruction. It examines what drives some individuals to murder when pushed to the utter edges of human depravity, where savagery seems like the only 'credible' solution.
Unlike other stereotypical serial killer genre films, almost two & half hour long
Cold Fish pushes further the perception of human behavior & following action and give us a gut-wrenching tale of murder, greed and psychological torment where only Sono can treat quite a number of disturbing elements with comedic ease and that even makes the film all the more captivating, filled with a bucket...nope! I should say a fully loaded tank of blood & dismembered body parts.
>>: A
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Truly first class! It will get an easy entry to the 'Best' club of superhero films by the fans of the genre.
>>: A