City of Lost Souls
©Tokuma International
photo courtesy International Film Festival Rotterdam
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Attractive Chinese hairdresser Kei (Michele Reis) goes underground in Tokyo after
being rescued, with the assistance of a helicopter, from deportation by her lover, the
handsome, hotheaded Mario (Teah). These two young runners intend to get married
as soon as they can find a second to slow down and escape the clutches of warring
rival gangs. Desperately searching for money in order to obtain new passports and
arrange their stowaway, Mario steals a stash of cocaine during a drug deal between
the Chinese Mafia and Japanese Yakuza. Unfortunately, Kei has been captured by
the Yakuza during the deal. This adaptation of a novel by Hase Seishu is one several
films that director Miike Takashi (maker of "The Audition") has made during the past
year. This film is a fascinating mixture of gangster romance and parody. The tempo
is paced well and keeps the viewer moving along with the development of the
situations. What it misses in plot, it makes up for in speed (snort). Not the best, but
not the worst of Miike (and so much in such a short time), who stays busy with the
new generation. Drugs and romance in an underworld filled with nihilism.
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