Branded to Kill is a 1967 movie directed by Seijun Suzuki. It’s style, non-traditional structure and quirky characters could have served as inspirations for Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds.
I’ll start this review with a disclaimer: I try to enter these movies blind. I don’t do any research prior to viewing nor do I read any criticism. This is a learning process for me and I don’t others’ views clouding my own opinions.
Having said that, I know I’m missing something with this movie.
On one hand, Branded to Kill is a weird, visual fun house that is both hilarious and hopelessly dark. On the other hand, it’s an elaborate mess featuring a cast of sincerely unlikable characters. It’s a fascinating blend of styles and bending of genres. Branded to Kill is an art house, existential Yakuza movie that forces you to do some heavy lifting. There’s a lot to invest in here, yet the payoff is lacking.
Branded to Kill tells a fairly simple story. Hanada, a hit man, fails to complete an assignment, which leads to him falling out of favor with his organization. He is then tracked by another hit man, which leads to a final showdown. Along the way, the story’s main character is involved in tortuous relationships with two different women.
Hanada is the #3 hit man in what appears to be a Yakuza organization. Early in the movie, he is defined as “a pro”, which stands in contrast to another associate, who is a bumbling, erratic drunk. The contrast is striking and interesting later in the movie, when Hanada begins to portray a similar character. At times, Hanada is fascinating and endearing. Initially, he exhibits an almost unreachable level of cool – he flaunts post-modern 1960’s style and a puffy faced look of nonchalance. Hanada is quirky too. In a running gag, he wants to surround himself with the aroma of rice, which serves as an aphrodisiac of sorts.
However, the luster of Hanada’s appeal is quickly lost after seeing his interactions with his wife, Mami. The relationship is mostly physical and features a lot of brute force. Hanada is aroused by the smell of boiling rice, then violently slaps Mami – which in turn gets her aroused. They have endless sex by continuing this loop. There’s no real communication between the two outside of sexual aggression. Later in the movie, Mami comments that “beast needs beast” before shooting Hanada. Yet even as he staggers around bleeding, it’s virtually impossible to sympathize with Hanada. He is an extraordinarily unlikable character.
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