A Snake of June (2002)

aka ROKUGATSU NO HEBI

Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto

Cult Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto has time and again proven himself to be the embodiment of what is understood as an auteur. From the moment he emerged with his dystopian tale of metallic mutation Tetsuo (1989) he has written, directed, produced, and designed a raft of distinctive and unusual feature films. Tsukamoto’s carefully constructed world often explores the human body undertaking an act of revolution in the face of urbanisation, technology and the banality of capitalist society. Although Tsukamoto’s vision is a unique one, it is couched within stylistic terms that evoke the nightmare logic of David Lynch and the body horror of David Cronenberg. Tsukamoto is fiercely independent and through his production company Kaiju Theater has contributed some of the most challenging films in modern Japanese cinema. In terms of narrative A Snake of June has to rate as one of his most straightforward films. The story unfolds in a manner which is largely understandable. This aspect of the film will not present audiences with a challenge, but the perverse sexual content and the blue tinted monochrome stylistics might.

The Kiss of Death (1973)

aka DU NU aka POISON GIRL

Directed by Ho Meng Hua

Chu Ling (Chen Ping) is a vibrant and pretty young factory worker whose life is turned upside down when she's savagely raped by five malicious men late one evening. Before being discharged from the doctor, she is informed one of the men has given her a rare venereal disease called 'Vietnam Rose', a deadly STD brought back from the war. Told that she will eventually die from this incurable sickness, Chu plots revenge on the five men who ruined her life. A crippled club owner named Wong Ta (Lo Lieh) takes pity on her and trains her in how to defend herself. Chu Ling then scours the streets for the five rapists before her time has expired.

Uzumaki (2000)

aka SPIRAL aka VORTEX

Directed by Higuchinsky

The boom in the production of horror films in Japan at the end of the last millennium didn’t take long to degenerate into cliché, convention, and predictability. The Kaidan or avenging spirit motif had long been a staple of theatrical modes of address and had popped up sporadically throughout Japanese film history. But by 2000 I for one was sick of long haired phantoms exacting their revenge through modern technology. With the benefit of hindsight one can now see how few moments of originality there were. Even the South Korean examples were rarely anything other than pallid imitations. This makes Uzumaki all the more exceptional. There is a genuine spark of inventiveness and creativity in director Higuchinsky’s handling of Junjo Ito’s manga source material. This was Higuchinsky’s directorial debut and he brought to his feature films a visual sensibility honed from a career producing music videos.

Disciples of Shaolin (1975)

aka HONG QUAN XIAO ZI aka THE HUNG BOXING KID aka INVINCIBLE ONE

Directed by Chang Cheh

Some time after the Ming rebellion was quelled by the Manchu invaders, Guan Feng Yi (Alexander Fu Sheng), a poor young man with tattered shoes, wanders into a small village seeking his elder brother, Wang (Chi Kuan Chun). Upon finding him, Guan discovers his brother works for a local dye mill that is being oppressed by competition from another mill owned by the Manchu's. Guan decides to aid the helpless workers gaining favor with the mill owner in the process. He's given a job at the mill as a guard and trainer. His brother, a former bodyguard for a wealthy businessman some years before, disapproves of Guan taking the job. Desiring only a brand new pair of shoes for his trouble, the gullible Guan soon becomes an unwitting victim of greed, power and ultimately, tragedy.

Chang Cheh's biggest Hong Kong hit is a powerhouse performance by the vibrant and efficiently handsome Fu Sheng in his signature, genre defining role. Without question, this is Fu's finest hour as the naive, yet righteous bumpkin who only wants a pair of good shoes. Both shoes and a stopwatch play a significant role in the movie; they are symbolic of the slow climb from having nothing to having a lot. When he arrives in town, he becomes enchanted with the pretty Hsiao Ying, but the budding romance hasn't time to bloom once Guan is given a job as a bodyguard. His desires are now engulfed in new clothes, a home, money and a new woman, a former prostitute named Chu Hong. It's the classic 'Rags To Riches' storyline and Cheh did two other similar movies--the massively successful THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972) and THE CHINATOWN KID (1977), the latter a modern day tale and also starring Fu Sheng.

This film also speaks on the rich and their treatment of the grunts they employ for protection. This is much in the same fashion as the way ancient roman rulers treated their gladiators--they were the lowliest of citizens and there for a spectators sport and nothing more. The wealthy and elder Chinese property owners have the same perception of martial arts fighters in this movie. They appreciate their protection, but once they become useless, another is waiting in the wings to replace them with little to no regard for the valiant soul who stood faithfully by them.


This was one of the revered Liu Chia Liang's last jobs as an action choreographer for Chang Cheh before embarking on his own directorial ventures. He manages a number of brutal confrontations, particularly during a crucial sequence towards the end of the movie. Still, fighting is secondary to this production. This was one of a dozen Chang's Company pictures shot between 1973 and 1976 in Taiwan with Shaw capital that couldn't be extradited from the country. Distribution was then handled by the Shaw's. Considering it's an "independent" effort outside the glorious Shaw Brothers studio, production values are noticeably a lesser standard, but the plot and performances make up for this. Chi Kuan Chun, frequently paired with Fu Sheng, has a lesser, but mysterious role as Guan's brother, Wang. He hides a secret which is revealed later in the movie and answers questions that arise earlier in the film.


 In 1993, a remake surfaced with Aaron Kwok in the lead called THE BAREFOOT KID. Ti Lung, a former Shaw superstar and one of the late Fu Sheng's closest friends, co-starred. Nearly directing a hundred movies in his long career, DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN is one of Chang Cheh's best works. The ending is surprising, but only to those not expecting it. It feels a bit rushed and somewhat upsets the balance of everything that has come before. It's not crippling, just the final moments feel more like a typical revenge kung fu flick than the meticulously mounted, dramatic action film of the previous 100 minutes.

Audition (1999)

aka ÔDISHON

Directed by Takashi Miike

Prolific filmmaker Takashi Miike made his international breakthrough with this mischievous and beautifully controlled examination of spectatorship, generic expectation, and gender relationships. With its subtle hints that eventually lead to a nightmare world of sadism and torture Miike proves himself to be a filmmaker that audiences cannot trust. The slow burning narrative build up of the first half affords the male characters an opportunity to express their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. For widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) his emotional frailties centre on the persistence of his son in finding a replacement for the wife who perished several years before. Aoyama still loves his departed wife, but the idea of a sexual partner, and a housewife to keep everything in order is very attractive. Aoyama’s sexism is outmoded and old fashioned, but he is essentially an harmless individual. He doesn’t possess the same level of vitriol and spite his friends do at the rising number of women in the work place. Despite the dubious morality of holding a fake audition in order to find himself a suitable wife, Aoyama scarcely deserves the shocking punishment he suffers at the end of the film.

Shura (1971)

aka DEMONS aka PANDEMONIUM

Directed by Matsumoto Toshio

Gengobe Satsuma, an exiled samurai cast out as an Asano clan retainer is given a second chance to join his brothers in arms to become the 48th Ronin against the Shogunate. His faithful servant gathers the 100 ryo required for his acceptance. Gengobe is also in love with a greedy geisha named Koman. About to be sold to another man, Gengobe learns that for him to keep her, her debt is exactly 100 ryo.