Bunraku

by Joshua Albertson
(High Point, North Carolina, USA)

I am simply speechless?
Have you ever seen a film that left your jaw dropped the entire time? Well, I just saw the most astounding film yet, Bunraku! What can you say about a film like this beside the fact that it is awesome?! Well, it is visually stunning. And?why don?t I tell you what it is about first?

Bunraku is about a world devoid of guns and ruled by a merciless tyrant. In steps a lone Drifter (Josh Hartnett) seeking a simple card game, or is he? Through his journey he must trust a samurai by the name of Yoshi (Gackt) in order to help him. The Bartender (Woody Harrelson) puts it best, ?A cowboy in a world without guns and a samurai with no sword team up to defeat a common evil.? That?s the basic story.

Sure the plot sort of sounds like a lot of films, and it kind of has this V for Vendetta feel only mixed with Pulp Fiction; yeah I bet you are interested now! However, there is a big difference in how the story is told and what it is really about. This movie is simplistic, but comes across as deep and exciting! It is visually stunning and the violence is hardcore and stylish! The effects and directing is amazing, I applaud the work of Guy Moshe (?! & Molly)! This is only his third film and I loved every second of it.

The screenplay was fantastic, because every actor knew his character inside and out! This film blends many different genres, but you can tell that there is a huge Japanese influence. It has its serious moments and its absolute hysterical moments. It truly is the perfect blend of action and balls to the walls pitch-black comedy!

Visually, Bunraku is the most uniquely styled film I have seen since, Moulin Rouge! With that being said, you can image that it is quite zany and just off the wall creative! Bunraku will not be a waste of your time, unfortunately for audiences in the US this film will not be released until the 30th of September unless you get an import or you know a guy.