Search - Black Kiss on DVD

Too much of an Enigma...

Woopak | Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell | 06/11/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"BLACK KISS(original title: SYNCHRONICITY) is from Japanese director Makato Tezuka, son of anime legend Osamu Tezuka(Astro Boy, Kimba the white lion). The son has yet to fill his father's shoes, in his previous film, Hakuchi the idiot, he still leans towards rambling, overly long, stylish visuals, unsupported by a coherent plot or substance.

The following may contain spoilers:
The story begins when Asuka(Reika Hashimoto), an aspiring model in Tokyo is looking for a place to stay. Asuka is introduced by one of the production assistants in a modeling firm, Kasumi decides to let her stay with her. Kasumi(Kaori Kawamura) at first is unfriendly, with her own baggage of issues. Across the street is the Bats Hotel, (Bates motel inspired?), from the window she witnesses a man being cut up with a scalpel by a petite woman. (which is actually the climax of the opening sex scene)Upon the police's arrival at the scene, they find a severely dissected man with roses stuck in his eyes. After she witnesses this crime, Asuka's troubles begin, ironically, as well as her popularity.
A series of coincidental murders begin to occur. Mutilated bodies with voodoo symbols gets mailed to the police, stuffed animals with body parts and mutilated heads, all with a black "Kiss mark". The murdered fashion models all seem to hold a link to Kasumi.
Spoilers end here...

The movie seems to lack discipline. I couldn't really figure out which direction it wants to go, is it a dark drama, mind-bender or horror thriller? It was some very gruesome scenes which should suggest a splatter fest, but it loses its effect when beautified by colors and décor, perhaps this is what the director intended, to express a twisted idea. There is also a lack of character development, there are definitely wasted opportunities with the cult expert and the paparazzi(Masanobu Ando, Battle Royale). There is a lot of visual flare and eye candy(the women are hot), but the plot itself is unable to hold your interest for 133 minutes. From its very sexy and bloody opening it continues with a lot of drama, then goes into mild, mediocre thriller, then some more drama, sprinkled with an occasional, brief horror of new-found corpses of irrelevant side-characters. It steals formulas from SE7EN, Audition and Silence of the Lambs. It fails to build on the tension and suspense to hold a viewer's attention on this type of film.

Kaori Kawamura is the saving grace of this film, she is very convincing, as someone who went through a lot of bitterness in life, unfortunately, her character gets lost for a while during the police investigations plot. Cute Reika Hashimoto's acting is a bit bland, while Ken Mitsuishi(Audition) and Masanobu Ando are really wasted.

PICTURE: Anamorphic widescreen (1.85 ratio). The technical aspect is matchless. From its radiant colors, deep blacks(where needed) and sharpness. I have no complaints with the picture, truly top-notched. Kudos to Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock.
AUDIO/SUBTTITLES: 2.0 Dolby digital in Japanese language. I don't think 5.1 channels are needed here, the 2.0 track did sound very exceptional. The subtitles are well executed.
Features: Very much needed Deleted scenes and Director interviews, trailers, Stills/gallery, tokyo shock trailers. (I wished it had an alternate ending)

Tezuka has a good eye for visuals which helps make this film bearable, its his lack of story-telling that kind of makes me grind my teeth. The film itself lacked closure, it has one of the most frustrating endings in Japanese horror-thrillers. Is the identity/motive of the killer revealed? Is it really?!
BLACK KISS remains a mixture of very interesting parts which doesn't coalesce to an effective, at least interesting whole, it is watchable.. but only for its flamboyant style.
Check it out, rent it first if you can, I intend to watch it again w/out my friend's distracting questions.
A weak 3 stars for the film(a bit better than 2, so I'll be generous), 4 stars for the dvd quality."

An interesting tale

Jer | Long Island, New York | 12/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Summary

A young and budding model (Asuka) is looking for a place to stay and someone at work offers to help. She stays with Kazumi a dark girl who has a chip on her shoulder. While staying there Asuka witnesses a brutal murder and the police need to find out who it is before more people die.

Personal Observations

I was told about this film by a friend and it was hard to find. I finally got found it and I was very impressed. I thought I could figure it out but everytime I thought I had it something else happened. The murders are interesting and you will always be at the edge of your bed or seat. The acting is great and the filming has awesome shots. This movie is a must have for anyone looking for a good thrill. This box also comes with another small disc with small stuff on it. I don't want to give it away."