At the all-male Suzuran High, you need
more than just butt-kicking grades to pull you through those tumultuous
teenage school days - you need to pack a powerful punch too. Trust
me, your life literally depends on it.
Suzuran High, also known as the rather
ominous sounding School for Crows, has a reputation.
It's not the
stereotypical Japanese high schools that you usually catch on the screen
- silver or not - those full of romantic blue skies and heartwarming
moments with your best friends; Suzuran High isn't called the "toughest"
educational institution for nothing.
Here, boys are being educated in
the way of the streets, of back-alley fighting and above all else, how
to survive.
Reminiscent of the delinquents of popular
Japanese drama Gokusen, CROWS ZERO takes a much violent
and action-packed route in terms of delinquency. The boys here are the
wham-bam-thank-you-M'am who don't hold back when settling
disputes by the way of fighting their hearts out.
CROWS ZERO is set to be more of
a cult-hit for the overseas audience (note: this movie actually knocked
HERO, starring Kimura Takuya, out of its 7 week reign at the top
in Japan), rather than a mainstream blockbuster.
It's nothing less
than sheer entertainment from movie-making maverick Miike Takahashi ,
who's famous for sleeper-hits such as Chakushin Ari
(One Missed Call, 2004), Ichi the Killer (2001) and Sukiyaki
Western Django (2007).
Starring heartthrob Oguri Shun of
Hana Yori Dango and Hanazakari to Kimi Tachi E fame as the
lead character Takaya Genji, Oguri reprises his signature role of being
that silent, stoic and slightly socially awkward youth that made him
famous.
Of course, one has to wonder if he'll be stuck in that stereotype
forever. Nevertheless, Oguri's portrayal of Genji is no less than
exemplar. Against veteran actors such as Yamada Takayuki (Densha
Otoko, Water Boys), who plays the role of Serizawa Tamo -
Genji's rival-of-sorts - Oguri manages to hold his own.
In CROWS, Oguri is Genji
and Genji is Oguri.
From the moment when Genji declares that
he'll gain control of Suzuran High (something which no one has achieved)
in order to prove to his father that he has what it takes to take over
daddy's yakuza operation, the audience is lulled into feeling
for Genji every step of the way.
And when 3rd year transfer
student Genji gets mistaken for Suzuran's top fighter Serizawa, we
get Katagiri Ken (Kyosuke Yabe) thrown into the fray.
A washed out,
loser yakuza, Katagiri's life is meaningless. Getting beaten
up by beanpole Genji after mistaking him for someone else adds
another sore blow to his already down-and-out life. What's a guy to
do?
On hearing that Genji wants to climb
to the top of his alma-mater, Katagiri sets it upon himself to tutor
the boy in the ways of achieving this goal and cue a whole bunch comedic
and what I think are, fresh scenarios.
Picture very funny scenes of Genji, Katagiri and a matchmaking proposition to anyone in a skirt on the streets, in
order to gain the allegiance of another small-time school gang leader, who is a failure in skirt-chasing.
Genji can't do this by himself and
has to start from the very bottom - beating up lesser punks - in
order to gain enough power to stand a chance against the formidable
Serizawa, the one closest to consolidating the power in Suzuran High.
It's typical Asian action fare, with a gradual progression
to what everyone expects: a final showdown between the two leads.
Again, being a very Asian film, CROWS
ZERO is chock full of machismo moments where loyalty and honor rise
above almost anything else, and the bond between Genji and his friends
(note: not subordinates) is touching in a testosterone filled way.
It's obvious that under their bravado and bruises, the boys of
CROWS ZERO are really just nice guys who well, find it better to
communicate in more physical ways. Couple this with Katagiri, whose
utter selflessness is balanced off with a zany personality, we've
got a winner here.
The film has no qualms about not being
an "arty" film or catering to the public - it has no need to.
Being based on a prequel to the long-running and famous manga
CROWS by Takahashi Hiroshi, its success (at least in Japan) is already
more than guaranteed. But how does that translate for those of us not
in the know?
Like most of Miike's other films,
CROWS ZERO is big on drawing the audience into a state where everything
you see on screen is believable.
It's hardly reality when you see
a whole bunch of generally lanky and not-so-muscular guys going at each
other in the rain, and having that rain disappear within seconds leaving
the boys all miraculously dry (if only the sun was like that in Singapore,
we wouldn't need a dryer then!). However, Miike's clever combination of
believable characters and home-hitting themes allow the audience
to ignore all that.
That being said, there are some couple
of points that are simply hard to cast aside.
 Miike's inclusion of
Genji's potential love interest Ruka (Japanese-American model Kuroki
Meisa) seems only an after-thought and does not even qualify as a
real catalyst for the plot. She's reduced to merely a plot device
and has almost no personality save for a brief scene where she stabs
someone with a fork.
Nonetheless, CROWS ZERO leaves
you at the edge of your seat, literally, almost wishing that you
were Genji, Serizawa or even Katagiri as they exchange blows. If you
actually start thinking that the way the blood splatters is almost desirable
and ignore how everyone seems to have the same amount of blood around
their mouths, Miike's succeeded.
So in this stifling time of term paper
deadlines and looming exams, the never-give-up and alternatively uplifting
CROWS ZERO might give you that much needed adrenaline rush to go
at your studies head on. hooked
HOOKED gives CROWS ZERO
4 out of 5 stars for the 130 minutes of action-packed fun.
Images courtesy of Encore Films
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Written by Guest on 2008-04-01 00:58:46
This movie is simply too good! Not for the faint-hearted though | Written by Guest on 2008-05-15 20:01:31
 Breathtaking at moments and not as predictable as you think  | Written by Guest on 2008-06-10 05:46:14
this movie was awesome. I watched it when I was in Japan with my friends. Even though I watched it in Japanese, all the action was amazing and irresistable. |
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