Bunraku Review

• 7th Oct 2011

I’m quite surprised that this stylish mash-up of spaghetti western and samurai film did not receive a theatrical release. There was clearly a lot of money splashed on it and it has a reliable cast. It isn’t a great film for sure but it’s a lot better than some of the half-arsed films that make it into cinemas these days.

The story follows a land where guns are banned and fighters have taken to their swords and hand-to-hand combat. Ron Perlman is the grizzly evil crime baron who rules the land but is weary of even his closest allies, including second hand man Kevin McKidd and femme fatale Demi Moore. Meanwhile a stranger walks into town (Josh Hartnett in his best Clint Eastwood impression) seeking revenge and he soon meets up with a samurai (Gackt) who helps him on his journey. They are accompanied and helped by a barman (Woody Harrelson) who has a dark history of his own.

Storywise it’s very thin on the ground stuff but this film is much more concerned with the look than what is in the script. And on that note it’s pretty spectacular, the cinematography, costumes, production design are all fantastic and are reminiscent of a cross between Sin City and West Side Story.

Rodriguez’ film is clearly an influence and thankfully it sways towards that film rather than the god-awful The Spirit. Director Guy Moshe has some neat tricks up his sleeves including a sequence where Hartnett takes on a group of police officers in one take, very reminiscent of the one-take fight sequence in Oldboy.

You may notice that I’m mentioning a lot of influences as the film really is a throwback to various genres and other films. It may hark to be Tarantino-esque but it is extremely lacking that director’s ability to create fully rounded characters. With a cast like this it is a shame that they are all practically wasted as the script doesn’t really give them an awful lot to do, McKidd is probably the only one who gets to have the most fan as a Fred Astaire-like killer. Anyone getting excited over an Indecent Proposal reunion between Moore and Harrelson will be severely disappointed by their one scene together. On a side note, Moore’s looking a bit rough these days is she not?

Overall it’s a very stylish film that will be good to watch late Saturday night with a few beers and a few friends but I doubt it’s a film many people will be in a hurry to revisit.

Stewart McLaren