Sounds, Images

trailer for Izo (Takashi Miike, 2004)

"This ambitious collage-approach brings to mind some major works of 20th-century Western art: Eliot’s "The Wasteland," Picasso’s Guernica, the epic symphonies of Mahler and Shostakovich, all of which combined elements of high and low culture to create monumental forms that encompassed both. And like these Modernist touchstones, Izo all but requires the viewer to feel a little dumb: Not every reference is meant to be understood, nor is the logic connecting various scenes. What’s important is the overall density, which forces the viewer to really concentrate on the film, to put aside other thoughts for a while and contemplate some big ideas. (Takashi Miike, speaking more modestly, has said of Izo, “I want people to watch [it] in a daze and just let it flow.”)"
--Ben Sachs on Izo