First Love

Takashi Miike shares his comedic side in First Love, but never at the expense of the smartly-choreographed yet extreme violence on which he’s staked his reputation.

Back in Tokyo gangster territory after the samurai detours of 13 Assassins and Blade of the Immortal, the director’s latest winner centers on the chance union of promising young orphaned boxer Leo (Masataka Kubota) and hallucination-prone hooker Monica (Sakurako Konishi).

Fast friends, the two unwittingly find themselves in the middle of a complex game between the Yakuza and their Chinese rivals, whose strained affairs are being meddled with by (among other figures) slippery criminal Kase (Shôta Sometani) as he attempts to strike a deal with error-prone cop Otomo (Nao Ohmori).

The various convergences of these parties typically leads to deliciously stylized bloodshed — or at least a good kick to the crotch — and often carry the bonus of unexpected humor, be it from certain characters’ abilities to remain alive despite severe wounds or goofy images, many of them courtesy of Monica’s hauntings.

Having already delivered expertly crafted boxing scenes and such oddball sights as a headless corpse walking into an alley, Miike saves his best work for an extended showdown in a giant general store that culminates with an inspired dash of animation.

On the heels of steadily taut and increasingly entertaining storytelling, the big finale is a celebration of cinematic excess and the joys that are possible at the extremes of filmmaking, and diversifies the prolific director’s already impressive resumé.

Grade: B-plus. Not rated, but with adult language, content, and strong violence. Now playing at Grail Moviehouse

(Photo: Well Go USA)