Day 38: Branded to Kill (1967)

“Branded to Kill,” directed by Seijun Suzuki, is an action packed psychological thrill ride, deeply influenced by film noir and the pop art movement of Western society in the 1960′s. Considered a member of the “Japanese New Wave,” the film steps further than simple action and acts as an almost satirical portrait of what occurs when the cliches of 60′s action films are taken to their most extreme- delivering a sometimes funny, sometimes dark, but always surreal filmgoing experience.

In “Branded to Kill,” Japan’s third-ranked hitman, Goro Hanada, is at the top of his game after killing the underworld assassins ranked forth and second in his field. With these two terminated, it looks like Goro is a bullet away from taking down the mysterious number one killer and he himself becoming the greatest assassin in all of Japan.

But Goro’s plans grow quickly muddled when he meets Misako, a beautiful woman, who hires him to kill a visiting foreigner to the country. Though, at first, everything looks like it will go to plan, Goro botches the job at the last second and kills a innocent passerby, sending his reputation as a reliable killer into the toilet and his life into jeopardy. For the mob has now hired the number one assassin to eliminate him and it will take everything Goro’s got, both physically and mentally, to escape the killer’s clutches and fall out of love with the gorgeous Misako, who he has now promised to kill.

What makes “Branded to Kill” so interesting to watch is how it uses the style, look, and editing found rooted in American pop culture and cinema and amplifies it to a degree where it’s at its most extreme. It is this amplification of aspects that creates a whole new style of it’s own- both reminiscent and cutting edge at the same time. For instance, while the “James Bond” films of the same era looked at sex and even fetishes with a rather double entendre tongue in cheek approach, “Branded” skips right past this and amplifies it to such a degree that are protagonist’s large libido, as he beds both his wife and Misako, is aided by the smell of boiling rice, which gets him positively riled.

Another example of a Bond-like concept taken to the extreme is alcoholism. While Bond takes in martini after martini with very little trouble, Goro at first shows disdain for the drink, which he believes will take him off his game, but soon becomes a drunkard as the number one killer grows closer. In this way, we come to see the hard stuff not as flashy and acceptable, but far closer to actual reality, which, with the escapist draw of the Bond films, seems like an extreme.

But, just when you think the film is using this extreme approach to only redefine its straight action drama, Suzuki flips the story on its head, delivering humorous aspects of this method and, in some scenes, delivering a few rather good laughs. For instance, he amplifies the idea of “keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer” when Goro and the number one killer meet and decide to hold a truce for one more day. Not comfortable leaving each other out of sight, the two decide to link arms and go about their day, eating, sitting, running errands, and even urinating, in that way. At one point, they walk down the street, arms linked, to the dismay of all around them. It’s a rather silly, but nevertheless humorous joke in a rather “Odd Couple” sort of way.

“Branded to Kill” is much like it’s protagonist Goro- not easily pegged down. Just when you think its doing one thing, it tricks you and goes about something entirely different. But that’s certainly the draw of this odd picture and probably why it’s so much fun.

To learn more about “Branded to Kill,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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