Takeshi Kitano's "Kubi"

When you have a film titled "Neck" (the literal English translation of the Japanese title "Kubi") and the director happens to be Takeshi Kitano, then you can pretty much foretell how it will turn out to be. Those who have followed Kitano's entire filmmaking career will not be disappointed. Indeed, "Kubi" (2023) is very much a Kitano film. This is his second period film after "Zatoichi" back in 2003 and comes after the three-part yakuza saga "Outrage" (2010, 2012 and 2017). Kitano is well-known for his deadpan, quirky and brutal yakuza crime-dramas and the fact is that, in "Kubi," he transports his Japanese gangsters to 16th-century feudal Japan and turns them into warring and conniving warlords and vassals. The setting and timeline may have changed, but the characters and their dynamics are essentially the same. 

"Kubi" is a sprawling tale (based on Kitano's own novel) and just like the "Outrage" trilogy, it steadily introduces a multitude of characters that one can easily get confused and lost in the maze of things. The good thing is that, in "Kubi," Kitano also includes the names of the characters flashed onscreen as they first appear. In this way, the audience can somehow tell one character from the other. Still, "Kubi" is a tricky and convoluted tale of power, ambition, deception, and betrayal, which is practically the same themes found in Kitano's yakuza films. If we are going to pick out a basic storyline of the film, it goes something like this: Nobunaga (Ryô Kase), a warlord who is not quite right in the head, has the grand ambition of putting much of Japan under his control by pitting different clans against one another. The other warlords and their vassals appear to pledge their support for him, but are actually planning his downfall behind his back for their own political gains. The power dynamics among those who govern a given territory back in ancient times is not much different from what we can see in their contemporary counterparts, isn't it? 

Among these male players (and what a man's world it is!) is Mitsuhide (Hidetoshi Nishijima of "Creepy" and "Drive My Car"), who quietly accepts Nobunaga's doormat treatment of him because it is purported that he loves the warlord more than a brother, even if he is having a secret romantic relationship with Nobunaga's renegade vassal Murashige (Ken'ichi Endô). But make no mistake, Mitsuhide is harboring a similar ambition of owning and controlling a territory. Another is Hideyoshi (Kitano himself), a warlord aptly nicknamed The Monkey because he proves to be extremely effective in manipulating people to serve his own ulterior motives. Kitano has undeniably aged that much (he is now 77), but just like in his early films where he was also the main character, he is still a charming presence and a force to be reckoned with. No one can simply mess with the man. If you are wondering who is going to have the last laugh by the film's end, then your guess is as good as anyone else's. At this point in time, especially if you are a faithful and diligent Kitano disciple, you can be totally justified in saying that in this tale of power-grabbing, conspiracy, duplicitous alliances, and shifting loyalties, no lives will ever be spared. Indeed, in true Kitano fashion, as the plot of the film continues to unravel, the body count rises as well.

Did I mention that neck is the English translation of the Japanese title? Therefore, instead of fingers, heads are lopped off this time around. Not only did Kitano change the setting and time-period, but the type of body part as a price to be paid, too. 

But the one thing that really comes as a surprise here is the homosexual element that Kitano incorporates in the story. This is probably the last thing that one would expect from a Kitano film, considering how his filmography is entirely populated by tough guys, from "Violent Cop" all the way to the "Outrage" movies. From what I learned, "Kubi"'s point of reference was an actual historical event. But how much of the gay angle is true is still a disputable matter. Nevertheless, Kitano is quite unabashed in his portrayal of the homosexuality of Nobunaga, Mitsuhide and Murashige, with the effect that is both amusing and tender. Even samurai genre master Akira Kurosawa did not imagine something like this, most likely. 

With its variety of characters and complicated plot, it may take some time before one gets fully adjusted to "Kubi." But with the thrilling and grisly action on liberal display here, one's adrenaline can surely be pumped up, especially among the Kitano aficionados. With an outstanding filmmaking career that spans three decades at this point ("Kubi" is his 19th feature), it should be a cinematic event already whenever the "Beat" has a new film being released onscreen. Not quite sure though if after "Kubi," Kitano would settle into retirement already - like fellow Japanese auteur filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki after "The Boy and the Heron." But as with the latter, we would like to believe that Kitano is still on to another film, with or without yakuza.