SYNOPSICS
Imprint (2006) is a Pусский,日本語 movie. Takashi Miike has directed this movie. Billy Drago, Shihô Harumi, Michié, Magy are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2006. Imprint (2006) is considered one of the best Horror movie in India and around the world.
In the Nineteenth Century, in Japan, the American journalist Christopher is traveling through the country searching Komomo, the missing love of his life that he had abandoned years ago promising to come back to her later. He arrives in a shadowy island inhabited by whores and caftans, where he has an encounter with a deformed prostitute that tells that his beloved Komomo had passed away. He drinks sake with her and later he asks the woman to tell the story of her life. The prostitute discloses a dark and cruel story about her life and the sad fate of Komomo.
Imprint (2006) Reviews
a tale of a prostitute and her, uh, 'sister, and also a daring allegory on heaven & hell (more-so the latter)
It's not exactly as surprising really that the Showtime network decided not to pick up director Takashi Miike's entry into the Masters of Horror, Imprint, but rather why they chose him in the first place. Didn't they think after seeing Ichi the Killer and Audition and Gozu, among probably a dozen others I can't think of, that he would deliver something to the highest X-rated for violence &/or sex caliber? I'm guessing then they either decided to take a calculated risk, or maybe Mick Garris was such a huge fan of his he must've known what he was getting. Maybe no one did. Certainly not me, and I've already dug into a good few of Miike's movies. This one definitely ranks up there as one of the most shocking of the lot of the works he's made, matter of fact probably ever will. It's how really that the director approaches the subject matter, and how its presented, that really makes it so effective in the realm of real horror. This isn't for kids, make that perfectly clear; indeed I'd say if you've ever really been close to babies, or have had them, you might really feel disgusted by a few of the key scenes in Imprint. At first Miike seems to be dealing with something that is intriguing, though in a familiar style. It's a Rashomon-style tale of the truth behind a grisly matter, in this case the death of a prostitute, Komomo (Michie Ito, pretty heart-wrenching when she gets time to be). Her one-true-love, Christopher (Billy Drago, in a performance that's somewhat like David Carradine but in a slightly different, not-as-magnificent key), is there to find her on an island run amock with prostitutes. He goes to pieces over the news, which he hears from a woman (Youki Kudoh, the most effective and shattering performance of the film) who has a scarred face. He then hears a 'story' of what happened to her, but through the woman's story as opposed to exactly Komomo's. The woman has to tell her own story, which starts off rough from when her mother sends her away as a child from their river-side house to the ring of 'whores' she becomes apart of, and where she meets Komomo. But this story, of which the first real rush of horror comes in following an interrogation/torture of Komomo, is only the first one, and not necessarily the 'truth'. What comes out as the truth soon enough turns into something that not only did I not expect, but had me cringing and with eyebrows raised, but once or twice sort of laughing too. This isn't a very funny effort really, and unlike Visitor Q Miike doesn't combine satire with the more disturbing, bone-chilling elements. It's a straight-up no-holds barred look at the darkest side of human corruption and exploitation, with the surprises that come up really too hard to believe at times. For example when we finally do see the woman's ultimate 'secret', it borders on being a laughable, un-Godly sight gag. But it's dealt with in the utmost serious way, and meant as allegory- which it is without a doubt the case- is very powerful. What ends up being the most horrific, and horrific to a point that will make those in the US who seek out the DVD covering their eyes and feeling ripped to shreds, is stuff that isn't completely abstracted like with the ideas of 'the soul being in heaven or the body being in hell'. It's in seeing how the woman came to be, from birth, and how seeing what she saw- her mother's 'occupation'- along with her certain 'ailment' involving her sibling, combine together into something that is much more potent than monsters or savage lunatic psychos. For Christopher, this is something that brings him to the brink of his own cognizance, and what his love for Komomo really meant. Seeing how Komomo had her final days on Earth is pretty staggering, but for the viewer its not exploitive in the sense that it's just shock-value for shock-value's sake (though I'm sure many would argue that, especially over notorious scenes in other Miike films). It's there for a purpose, and made purposeful through the style that is very unlike how typical TV mini-movies are shot. Sometimes we get the bloody, creepy shots, and sometimes not, adding to what horror is or isn't seen as part of the effect. In the end, all of it adds up to something that I might want to try to forget soon, but I probably won't be able to. In short, if you're already a fan of Miike's, this should be like the treat of the season, with a mix of the director's bravura film-making technique (some shots are pretty incredible, like the tilt from the water to that tree, in tint of green, or the detail in how he shoots 'things' moving in backgrounds, and long-shots), and the no-punches-pulled sensibility of the subject matter. In this case a world of maybe the purest hell on earth with only the dire hopes and undermined will of getting to a heaven. It's one of the director's very best, albeit shortest, works in his very prolific career. A-
Aired in Britain Last night - I can see why it was banned!
The final entry of the series, Takeshi Miike's Imprint was banned from American TV. Mick Garris claimed it was the "most disturbing film iv ever seen". I wouldn't go THAT far! I can see why it was banned - Miike is still refusing to back down and STILL has a total disregard for limitations on what he is allowed to show on film (i think this is the first time iv seen an abortion in a movie). The story follows an American who has travelled to Japan to find the love of his life, Komomo, and take her back to America with him. While there, he meets a woman working as a whore, who used to work with Komomo and has to break the news about her death. The whore (i cant remember her name, so i'll have to refer to her as "the whore") tells how she has been outcast as a "freak" all her life because of the deformities on her face, and the film is shown in the stories she tells, of their life as whores and how Komomo died. The twists come when we find out the whore isn't telling the truth, and we see different versions of the story, and what really happened is slowly revealed, along with the true extent of the whores deformities. This is the first English language piece Miike has directed, as far as I'm aware. The broken English kind of gets in the way - as do the moments of bad dialogue - but apart from that, this is what Miike does best - his trademark style of disturbing and bizarre imagery and dark humour, which i can NOT get enough of! This is not one of his best, but is quite a horrific little film. Miike retains some of usual themes (its nice to see his obsession for torture with needles is still there! VERY nasty scene!) and the haunting atmosphere throughout and some of the events are very reminiscent of Gozu - probably his best film! This final entry has left the series hanging on a high note, it is 1 of the best ones in the series (along with John Carpenters f**ked up entry and Lucky McGees episode) i cant wait for Season two, baby - BRING IT!
Miike proves again to be a "Master of Horror"
Takashi Miike of "Audition" and "Ichi the Killer" fame directed this 13th episode of the Showtime series "Masters of Horror" - apparently it was never aired in the USA because the Showtime people were horrified at the episode, and probably with good reason. I like to think that Miike intentionally parodies "Memoirs of a Geisha", and "the last samurai" with this one. He combines the two in the story of a broken down American man who goes back to Japan to find the whore he fell in love with years before - the parallels with the serious movie "The Last Samurai" are unmistakable. The outlandish and over the top crazy costumes mimic the audacity of the costuming in "Memoirs of a Geisha", and the fact that this was done in English rather than Japanese only strengthens the parallels between "Imprint" and MoaG - and yet again Youki Kudoh (who was in Moag) makes an appearance, this time as a deformed prostitute. There are great lines such as "There is nothing on this island but demons and whores", and others less fit for print, but instant classics nonetheless. There are the classic Miike elements - violence, rogue abortions, murder, and incest, and a torture scene only outdone by Audtion. I couldn't give it a full 10 because Miike doesn't seem to work well with just a 1 hour window, and the plot doesn't make for a solid and clean short story, but fans of Miike should try to get their hands on this one, it is worth a look.
Miikes Imprint....
OK just a quick little comment from me. This short film, imprint is based on a Japanese book. I haven't read the book but it seems like a good thing for Miike to direct as it includes familiar Miike themes such as prostitution, hints of pedophilia and torture. The story is quite good, told in flashbacks mainly it is about a beautiful prostitute who died. The story is revealed nicely and keeps you guessing and misleads you to maintain the intrigue. Their are some very disturbing scenes such as some torture and abortion bits. Its shot quite nicely with some nice lighting and camera movement. The story ends up surprising you and disgusting you at the same time. This is the best Miike film for a while, graphic, intense, shocking, true horror. Its easy to see why it didn't play on showtime.
WOW!!! What a great film.
Imprint lives up to its name. This movie will not scar you but it will definitely leave and impression. I would consider this film a work of art on so many levels. The art direction is just amazing. How can such disturbing scenes look so beautiful. If you are a fan of horror and want to see something you have never seen before, something truly shocking, then give this film a try. Granted it does take about 20 minutes to start coming together and the lead actor comes off a bit cheesy but once it gets started it never lets up to until the end. Takashi Miike is a genius. He can make your jaw hit the floor and just when you think you can pick it up again he stomps it back down. A lot of his films are not as bad as people make them out to be but this one definitely lives up to what I have read about it. Truly Creepy!!!!