Page 138 - Nightmare Japan Contemporary Japanese Horror Cinema

A Murder of Doves 125

Master and Servant: Inflicting Sadism and Negotiating Masochism in
MiikeTakashi’s Ichi the Killer

A film’s opening sequence frequently establishes the work’s tone and
generates expectations regarding the events to follow. Some films start
quietly, following simple opening credits with a momentum that builds
steadily as the narrative unfolds; other films virtually explode upon the
screen, maintaining a heightened tension throughout the remainder of the
film. Miike Takashi’s ultra-violent masterpiece, Ichi the Killer, opens
with a series of off-screen spurts that soon transform into one of the most
arresting title sequences in film history.
Fresh from the assassination (which we never see) of a yakuza
boss named Anjo, Ichi, the film’s eponymous antihero, finds his way to
the apartment of a hooker receiving a horrific beating at the fists of her
pimp. During this unique introductory sequence, Miike cross-cuts
between full and medium shots of Ichi voyeuristically peering from
behind a potted plant on the apartment’s balcony to disorienting close-ups
and jerky POV shots of the pimp’s fists pounding into the hooker’s flesh,
raising giant welts and sending blood flying in thick, ropey arcs. As the
scene develops, Ichi, clad in a rubber suit with a yellow ‘1’ on the back,
masturbates furiously, ultimately losing his balance and making a
moderately loud noise that draws the pimp’s attention away from his
battered ‘employee’. As furious as he is curious, the pimp makes his way
out to the balcony, but by the time he arrives, Ichi is long gone. However,
as an extreme close up of a few of the potted plant’s leaves reveals, Ichi
has left behind a trace of his presence in the form of thick white semen
that drips slowly to the ground. As the semen splashes onto the patio,
Miike employs digital manipulation to transform the freshly spilled
ejaculate into the film’s title.
Ichi the Killer’s remarkable opening sequence functions in
several ways. Firstly, it introduces us to Ichi, a crybaby vigilante who,
programmed by a former cop named Jijii, believes himself the victim of
ijime and dedicates himself to ridding the world of ‘bullies’. He
accomplishes this latter task through dazzling martial arts skills