Survive Style 5+ [DVD]

I wish I was in the meeting when this was pitched! The fun & upbeat DVD menu / opening credits do their best to prepare, although I don’t think anything could. It’s so amazingly colourful, the music’s beat-tastic and the pace is nothing short of rapid – this is totally fresh and original. The only way I can remotely describe this is an enjoyable ‘Punk Film’ if that makes sense!?Above the style, the characters are also memorable and unique: an outrageously hot wife that keeps getting reincarnated, a hip-thrusting tiger-obsessed hypnotist, a hitman who kills anyone who’s ‘function in life’ is unnecessary, a man that thinks he’s a bird and 3 gay burglars (‘Come baby, come come baby’ is ingrained in my brain).Despite the crazy ideas and characters all five stories are connected and, although it’s fragmented, the narrative makes sense. It grinds to a halt in the last 20 minutes, other than the last scene, which is the only fault I have on this. The most fun I’ve had watching a film in ages. Modern Japanese cinema at it’s very best!

I found this film a little boring and unsure of itself,some of the story arcs dont work and as a whole dont gel together that well.Vinny jones is solid enough in it but didnt play that much of a part in it for me.This is all a bit messy,random and dull.

I'm a big fan of Asian cinema - whether it be horror, anime, historical drama, or Bollywood's cheesiest offerings. Survive Style 5 is very hard to categorise though - about the only obvious genre in which to include it is black comedy - and even then I feel as though this doesn't really fully address the surreal or offbeat quality it possesses.In terms of plot, the film interweaves five separate storylines of a husband who can't get rid of his wife, a businessman who is hypnotised into believing he is a bird, burglars on a job forming an attachment to one another, an irritating ad exec seeing life as one long advert, and a hit man who asks his prey to justify their existence before deciding whether to despatch them. (The latter being Vinnie Jones, who deserves a (dis)honourable mention for his particularly hammy performance).Visually, the film is impressive, with the same colour saturation and attention to detail seen in offerings like `Dumplings' - I particularly liked the Austin-Powers-meets-Disney-cartoon bedroom of one of the characters. But the storyline and script tread a fine line between wacky, and just downright juvenile, and though the film never quite reaches slapstick mentality, I think it will probably only appeal a youngish male audience, (where I could easily see it achieving cult status).Overall - an unusual and watchable film - but one that never really becomes very compelling or noteworthy.

This movie is above all else a riot of colour and frenzy, a triumph of style over substance. With a confusing welter of story lines, and in the case of one or two, unconvincing acting, its assaults you visually. At the end I was as confused by the movie as much as I was by the cover. While I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, if you like your stories raw, violent and colourful prepare to be engaged. Otherwise, unless you are a film student, I'd steer clear.

I saw this at the Sci-Fi London film festival and really enjoyed it - it's very, very funny but brutal too. Vinnie Jones is the face most westerners will recognise and he's pretty good as the hitman with a philosphical bent - but there are lots of Japanese actors here that you might recognise if you watch many Japanese films (Tadanobu Asano "Ichi the Killer", YosiYosi Arakawa "Ping Pong" and , of course, Sonny Chiba "Kill Bill") and they all do good work.The plot features five threads - there is a man who has killed his wife, but she won't stay dead; a salary man who gets hypnotised to believe he is a bird; the story of a female advertising executive whose idea of what makes a great advert is... unconventional; and three young burglars, two of whom are undergoing an important awakening.Tying it all together in a most satisfying way is the fifth thread, Vinnie Jones the ultraviolent English hitman who has a tendency to demand of people "What is your purpose in life?" and his wannabe tough-guy translator who bring chaos wherever they go.If that all sounds confusing, well it is sometimes, but it is also hilariously funny, entertainingly acted, there's a fantastic pumping soundtrack (turn it up loud) and a brilliant conclusion.This is fun. Highly recommended, in case you hadn't guessed.

Arrived a few days "late" but everything else was as advertised.

A wonderfully weird movie

Japan has the ability to produce cultural artefacts ranging from the downright cheesy to cutting edge cool and everything inbetween. Well, this movie is definitely a rollercoster which arrives at the cool end of the spectrum. Other reviewers have summarised the 5 interlinking scenarios, each of which is bizarre in its own fascinating way, so I won't retread that ground.Good performances from Tadanobu Asano, Sonny Chiba and Vinny Jones and also from the very beautiful Reika Hashimoto (gorgeous as the wife who refuses to stay buried) and ditto, Kyoko Koizumi, the advertising executive. The whole look of the film is trippy and colourful; interiors particularly underline the bizarre feel of the movie, (check out the inside of Tadanobu's house!)Suffice it to say, this is a weird and wonderful mix of black comedy, violence (which is thankfully not as gut-churning as in some J-movies) and, particularly at the end, life affirmation.