A violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs. Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results. While investigating a series of drug-related homicides, Azuma discovers that his friend and colleague, Iwaki, is supplying drugs from within the police force. After Iwaki is murdered and Azuma's sister is kidnapped, he breaks all the rules to dish out his particular form of justice. Takeshi Kitano's films that have been celebrated in the West–SONATINE and the elegant FIREWORKS–are art movies with a pulpy whiff of hickory smoke blown over them. For my money, the real Kitano is found in early pictures like BOILING POINT and this programmer, generally called in America VIOLENT COP. There's always a strange mix of art movie and pulp movie in Kitano, but in this one the balance is about fifty-fifty. Kitano's trademark style–Ozu-like tranquility pierced by chancres of irruptive violence–was never so deftly jiggered as it is here. And Kitano's own performance–log-faced yet queerly piquant–ranks with Robert Mitchum at his peak. Sono otoko, kyoubou ni tsuki or Violent Cop is a nihilist film with a nihilistic protagonist and a equally nihilistic antagonist. Violent Cop is a cumulation of yakuza films since the 1960s. It is also the first Kitano film years before he became a well known international star.<br/><br/>As said above this film has no moral or message to tell. It simply shows the violence as it is, there is no justification of the violence whatsoever given in this movie. It simply is there.<br/><br/>It does show however that the System always continues to function even if nihilistic violence tries to upset it, it is just a brief diversion from daily affairs. This is seen profoundly at the very end of the film: the diversion is over, lets do business as usual.<br/><br/>The two antagonists have much in common with each other. Both of them are loners operating on the fringe of their respective organizations, and often take matters in their own hands, and both of them are ousted by their organizations.<br/><br/>If you are a fan of violent films that do not seek to give a justification for the violence portrayed then this film is for you.<br/><br/>For Kitano fans this film is obligatory.
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