Branded to Kill

Branded to Kill (Koroshi No Rakuin) (1967)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Seijun Suzuki

Starring: Jo Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Annu Mari, Koji Nanbara, Isao Tamagawa

From: Nikkatsu

Yep, this was as peculiar as I had heard. Before last night I had seen a sextet of Seijun Suzuki movies, which not only included the stylish Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill but earlier crime dramas that were straightforward but were all thrilling. Take Aim at the Police Van and Everything Goes Wrong are well worth checking out. Criterion Channel’s 24/7 stream played this last evening and once I realized this is what they were showing… no excuse not to finally check this out.

It was disarming at first; the opening act was rather straightforward in its portrayal of an assassin who experiences trouble due to both love and a mission gone awry. However, the further we progress into the story, the more surreal and just bizarre it became. Such a style is not always my bag, to put it mildly. However, as we see the protagonist have a fetish for boiling rice (?!), the film briefly becoming the black and white version of Aggro Dr1ft, plentiful female nudity and more… I rolled w/ it and was perversely entertained.

The behind-the-scenes drama was perhaps more interesting than what was on screen. Suzuki came into this project late and due to past issues w/ the Nikkatsu studio, they told him to produce something that wasn’t wacky. He didn’t listen, they fired him, he sued them, he was blacklisted… what a mess. His films post comeback might be too avant-garde for me but one day I’ll try at least one. As for Branded to Kill, it has quality performances, was put together quite well for a movie that was at times written on set and had many collaborators-no wonder this had a cornucopia of weird ideas, oddball tangents, and butterflies. 

It's a film I need to ponder and perhaps view again long in the future to fully understand; trying to list highlights would be foolhardy and plus, the outlandish journey the viewer takes is better seen than described. Going in cold and getting to hear the oddball jazz score-for example-can’t be elucidated by myself anyhow. It’s not a journey for all tastes (even if you’ve watched Tokyo Drifter & Youth of the Beast and were a fan) but you won’t know for certain unless you take the first step.