IZO (2004)

Other name: イゾウ, 이조, 以藏, Izo: Kaosu Mataha Fujori no Kijin, Идзо

Description:

Miikes film IZO is a surreal and violently graphic masterpiece that begins with documentary footage of sperm production before recreating the 1865 execution of Okada Izo. A lowborn samurai who served antishogun rebel Hanpeita Takechi, Izos spirit is suddenly reincarnated fifteen decades later, possessing a streetsleeper in Tokyos financial district. The assassin then embarks on a brutal killing rampage across time and space, spanning from the Warring States period to the day after tomorrow. Izo slaughters everyone in his path, from a Buddhist elder and his own mother to the prime minister, played by Beat Takeshi. As a force of pure negation born from the contradictions of Japan, Izo is seemingly unstoppable. Only the godlike emperor Matsuda Ryuhei and maternal goddess of mercy Momoi Kaori remain immune to his wrath. Witnessing this bloody journey is Tomokawa Kazuki, a radical folkie from the 1960s who comments on the slaughter through song.

Director: Miike Takashi [三池崇史]

Country: Japanese

Status: Completed

Released: 2004

Genre:Action; Adventure; Drama; Fantasy; Historical; Horror; Time Travel