Koroshi no Rakuin: An eccentric rebellion in movie form.
Something I've been finding myself wanting to do a lot more these days is delve into the depths of classic cinema and rediscover gems and any movies or dramas of great interest for one reason or another. Retro Retrospectives/Reviews as I shall henceforth refer to them, can be rather fun, especially as a form of escapism. There's not much out there more fitting for such a series than Seijun Suzuki's rebellious absurdist action comedy from 1967, Branded to Kill/Koroshi no Rakujin. That particular movie is fascinating due to a number of reasons, not just because of Suzuki's refusal to play ball with Nikkatsu and subsequent firing. The movie's protagonist, Hanada, is the number 3 ranked hitman. Above him there are only 2 people in the business. Hanada's friend, Kasuga, a former hitman who has since turned into a taxi driver, has recently lost his nerve and lacking confidence, reaches out to Hanada for aid in getting back into the business. Shortly after, the two a...
