The Best Japanese Western Movie - Sukiyaki Western Django
If you take a look back at the past few decades of Japan's cinema history, you'll find some of the best and worst films known to humanity.
While there are amazing, worldwide famous movies like Takeshi Kitano's HANA-BI or Hayao Miyazaki's many Ghibli titles, there are also many cheesy, poorly shot movies that people watch just for the famous or attractive actors, making Japan's movie spectrum quite possibly the widest in the world. The movie we are about to talk about today, we aren't too sure where it falls on this spectrum. Directed by the legendary Takashi Miike, this movie is Sukiyaki Western Django.
Sukiyaki Western Django is special in many ways. First off, it's directed by Miike so you know it'll be a gem. Second, it has quite possibly the most stacked cast to this day in Japan, with legends Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, and Kaori Momoi being just the tip of the iceberg. Third, Quentin Tarantino is in the movie, who is a massive fan of Miike. Fourth, the story is cheesy as hell. Fifth, there are gun-slinging samurai-cowboys. And to add the cherry on top, the film is spoken entirely in extremely awkward English [hats off to the Japanese cast learning their lines].
If these points don't make you want to instantly watch this legendary flick, something is wrong. Quentin Tarantino himself even states that working in this movie was "a dream come true". This movie was released in 2007 too, 5 years before Tarantino's "Django Unchained".
The story itself, as the name [Sukiyaki Western] suggests, is Miike's version of a Spaghetti Western. The film style is clearly a western film, but the plot incorporates a lot of historical Japanese references, like Genji and Heike, two major clans in the 1100s, while mixing in modern day western themes like gunmen.
To be quite honest, this movie isn't one you watch to really break down and analyze the story. While yes, the plot is also interesting, it's more of a visual journey you just soak in and accept what is happening in front of you. Some hate it, some love it, but that is the beauty of Miike. Go check out the film when you get a chance.
