Violent Cop

Takeshi Kitano, Japan, 1989, 103 minutes

Homicide detective Azuma looks like a Japanese Taggart with a gun, and uses strong-arm methods which attract criticism from his superiors but appear more and more necessary in an increasingly violent world. Actor and ex-comedian Takeshi Kitano, originally only to star in this film, stepped in after the original director pulled out. Although the plot appears to take a predictable route down the path of one man against corrupt superiors and ruthless enemies, Kitano, both as actor and directo, lifts the film above this.

By mixing outbursts of ferocious violence with periods of relative calm, Kitano creates a distuting rhythm in the film. The frailty of the line between calm and carnage is shown in the way that violence erupts into peoples lives from nowhere: the invasion of a kids' baseball game, and the sudden and brutal death of a passer-by in a street gunfight. The acts of violence appear both spontaneous and perfectly choreographed, with the baseball bat attack again being an example, as the music pauses to let us hear the horrific contact. As a result Violent Cop matches the likes of Reservoir Dogs in the intensity of its throwaway violence - although it is not fair to compare the two films otherwise. With its powerful anti-cathartic ending, Violent Cop is harsh and unremitting in its savagery, and it marks Kitano as an exciting new talent from outwith the Anglo-American canon, whose future projects should be well worth looking out for.

Review by Iain Lang
Taken from EUFS Programme 1994-95