After the murder of his seven year old granddaughter, wealthy financial tycoon Takaoki Ninagawa offers a public reward of ¥1 billion to anyone who kills her murderer: convicted child rapist and murderer Kunihide Kiyomaru. After an attempt is made on his life, Kiyomaru turns himself in to the police and a five-person specialist team is assembled to escort him from Fukuoka to the District Attorney's office in Tokyo within the next 48 hours. But with potentially 125 million people after the reward and the temptation of a massive payout staring them in the face, the team are at long odds to successfully complete their mission.
I watched this not long after seeing two of director Takashi Miike's more recent efforts ('For Love's Sake' and 'Lesson of the Evil'). Like those, 'Shield of Straw' displays a definite mainstream style in comparison to other films in Miike's oeuvre, and here it lends itself quite well to the tense and thought-provoking material: five people are bound by duty to stand between the most reviled man in the nation and potentially millions of people who will do anything to get their hands on him. But those who are expecting a thrill-a-minute action-fest would do well to remember that this is a work of Miike (and of Japan) - character is definitely king.
'Shield of Straw' is very much a character-driven film. The set pieces and exposition push the story along (albeit a bit clumsily at times) but the real drivers are the characters, their motivations (vengeance, hatred, greed, honour, duty) and their subsequent actions after being thrust into an extraordinary set of circumstances. All of these are explored and ably expressed through terrific performances from the cast. Of particular note are the two leads, Takao Osawa as the duty-bound team leader with the unenviable task of protecting the most hated man in the country; and Tatsuya Fujiwara as the killer whose seeming lack of motive makes him all the more chilling (his ambiguous last words are particularly disquieting). Also an honourable mention should be made for the brief but impactful appearance of Tsutomu Yamazaki as the frail billionaire whose wealth means nothing in the face of having lost someone so dear to him.
The film also touches on ubiquitous aspects of Japanese culture (honour and duty above all else, the common greater good taking precedence over the needs of the individual) and raises interesting questions as to whether these are 'right or wrong'.
Overall (and as long as you aren't expecting a mass of explosions and bloody stand-offs every five minutes) 'Shield of Straw' is a terrific and thought-provoking film that will please Miike fans and those who appreciate great character-driven crime thrillers.
I watched this not long after seeing two of director Takashi Miike's more recent efforts ('For Love's Sake' and 'Lesson of the Evil'). Like those, 'Shield of Straw' displays a definite mainstream style in comparison to other films in Miike's oeuvre, and here it lends itself quite well to the tense and thought-provoking material: five people are bound by duty to stand between the most reviled man in the nation and potentially millions of people who will do anything to get their hands on him. But those who are expecting a thrill-a-minute action-fest would do well to remember that this is a work of Miike (and of Japan) - character is definitely king.
'Shield of Straw' is very much a character-driven film. The set pieces and exposition push the story along (albeit a bit clumsily at times) but the real drivers are the characters, their motivations (vengeance, hatred, greed, honour, duty) and their subsequent actions after being thrust into an extraordinary set of circumstances. All of these are explored and ably expressed through terrific performances from the cast. Of particular note are the two leads, Takao Osawa as the duty-bound team leader with the unenviable task of protecting the most hated man in the country; and Tatsuya Fujiwara as the killer whose seeming lack of motive makes him all the more chilling (his ambiguous last words are particularly disquieting). Also an honourable mention should be made for the brief but impactful appearance of Tsutomu Yamazaki as the frail billionaire whose wealth means nothing in the face of having lost someone so dear to him.
The film also touches on ubiquitous aspects of Japanese culture (honour and duty above all else, the common greater good taking precedence over the needs of the individual) and raises interesting questions as to whether these are 'right or wrong'.
Overall (and as long as you aren't expecting a mass of explosions and bloody stand-offs every five minutes) 'Shield of Straw' is a terrific and thought-provoking film that will please Miike fans and those who appreciate great character-driven crime thrillers.