Ameriatch
One of the best films i have seen
RipDelight
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Janis
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
davidevoid
This movie is rather underrated i feel.This is the third movie i've seen by the director, the first being Snake of June and the second being Tetsuo: The Iron Man.I'd say this film is better than those two films, although i very much like those two films i feel this one blows them out of the water in a lot of respects.It's a much darker vision than Tetsuo, it's really full of dread this film. So that may put some off but it's a really interesting film and is amazingly directed and for the most part i feel it's really well acted.For me this movie is like the two other Shinya Tsukamoto films i've seen mixed with Ichi The Killer sort of things. There are a lot of things in here that it seems Miike Takashi knowingly used in Ichi The Killer, of which Shinya Tsukamoto stars.Yeah, a confusing and disjointed film and a film of two or maybe even three parts but a really interesting watch and the context and the interaction of the characters is excellent.I'd say this film is very worth seeing indeed.
Henry Fields
There's a feeling you get after watching "Bullet Ballet", and it's like the story is kind of incomplete. There's a lack of something, maybe a little information about the characters and their lives. That's a big burden and it doesn't matter how attractive is the look of the film with all those nebulous textures, it does not matter if Tsukamoto probes that he knows how to use the camera (although sometimes everything looks a little bit dizzy), 'cause if you don't have a story or a script, you got nothing.It's a short movie and still you feel like it will never end. That's what it happens when you don't have a clue about what's going on in the screen (shoots, gangs, suicide... ???).*My rate: 4/10
DKiller
First off, those expecting the David Lynch-on-Angel Dust style of the 1st Tetsuo movie and Tokyo Fist will probably be disappointed. Like Tokyo Fist, this is Shinya Tsukamoto at his most personal and heartbreaking. I saw this film at the Montreal FantAsia festival and came out puzzled by what I saw. Here I was, expecting Tsukamoto to cut loose again...and this movie was, by the standards of his earlier work, relatively calm. I'd compare it to Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" in that people will soon be hailing this one as a masterpiece.The film is the story of two people linked together by ideals and tragedy. Tsuda is a director of commercials who is heartbroken by the suicide of his fiancee for mysterious reasons. He soon develops a fascination with guns.
Later on, we meet Chisato, a young woman who is the driving force behind a gang of Japanese toughs. Tsuda forms a bond with Chisato through multiple encounters with the gangs. Whereas the other members of the gang are middle-class kids looking for fun, Chisato has a death wish and a suicidal streak which propels her to violence.Here's hoping that Bullet Ballet gets released soon, as it is technically perfect as well as emotionally dead-on.
Lord Retsudo
As a huge fan of Tsukamoto I was very excited when I finally got hold of a copy of this film, subtitled and widescreen - too bad that it turned out to be a real disappointment. Tsukamoto has gone back to black and white for this film and as a result the film suffers when compared to 'Tokyo Fist' or 'Tetsuo II'. The initial idea (about a man trying to get hold of a gun) is good and Tsukamoto handles things well, with his trademark wobbly camera and multiple jump cuts, but the film just loses its way about half way through and starts to drag. A pity, but I'm still looking forward to 'Gemini'...
