Rabudo gan (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Kensaku Watanabe

Writer:

Kensaku Watanabe (writer)

Release Date:

19 June 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Masatoshi Nagase	...	Hayamada
Aoi Miyazaki	...	Miyuki
Hirofumi Arai	...	Taneda
Ittoku Kishibe	...	Maruyama
Hironobu Nomura
Seiichi Tanabe
Genjiro Arato

Also Known As:

Loved Gun (International: English title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Company:

Eisei Gekijo

A Tremendous Movie

Kensaku Watanabe's third feature-length film, Loved Gun is an awesome work, full of emotions, passion and precision. Lives of a hit man and a young girl meet at the crossroads of quests, conflicts, and traumas. Motives of revenge and sorrow supply a perfect setting for a chain of events led by the past scores. Hayamada, the restless hit man whose parents were murdered when he was small kid is hired by the young and emotionally damaged Miyuki. Miyuki asks Hayamada to kill her father's lover. However, Hayamada has his own scores to settle, as well. Hayamada's foster dad is also a well experienced hit man Maruyama. Throughout the movie, we get to know him and his apprentice Taneda, too.

Not only the story telling, but also casting is excellent. Masatoshi Nagase who once collaborated with Watanabe in Pistol Opera plays Hayamada. His performance in Loved Gun is as impressing as his portrayal of Ryosuke in Umi wa miteita (The Sea Is Watching). Aoi Miyazaki's portrayal of Miyuki is exceptional. She is so young and so talented that it is easy to say her future as an artist will be very bright. Ittoku Kishibe who plays Hayamada's foster dad has a familiar face. Many people will recognize the veteran actor from Kitano's Zatoichi. Hirofumi Arai appears as the young gangster Taneda and fulfills his position as a rising star. All of these actors accomplish their difficult tasks in the best way. So here comes an outstanding movie that is worth deep consideration.