''IZO'' is a 2004

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese film directed by

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent an ...

. The main character of the film is Izo Okada (1832–1865), the historical samurai and assassin in 19th-century Japan who was tortured and executed by beheading in Tosa. Izo appeared previously in

Hideo Gosha was a Japanese film director. Born in Arasaka, Tokyo Prefecture, Gosha graduated from high school and served in the Imperial Navy during the Second World War. After earning a business degree at Meiji University, he joined Nippon television as a ...

's '' Hitokiri'' (1969), then played by

Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 Novemb ...

. However, Miike's portrayal of the character (or rather his spirit) transcends reality (and time and space) and is more of a surrealist exposé of Izo's exceedingly bloody yet philosophical encounters in an afterlife heavy on symbolism, occasionally interrupted by stock footage of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

accompanied by acid-folk singer

Kazuki Tomokawa Tenji Nozoki (及位典司; born February 16, 1950), best known by the stage name Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき), is a prolific Japanese musician, active in the Japanese music scene since the early 1970s. His music has been used in the films o ...

on guitar. Kazuya Nakayama plays Izo and the many characters he encounters on his journey include figures played by

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

and

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federation. Sapp has a combine ...

Cast

Kazuya Nakayama Kazuya Nakayama (中山一也) is a Japanese actor and producer known for films such as '' Izo'' and ''Agitator'' directed by Takashi Miike. Filmography * ''Keiji monogatari 2 - Ringo no uta'' (1983) * ''Renzoku satsujinki: Reiketsu'' (1984) * ' ...

- Okada Izo *

Kaori Momoi is a Japanese actress. Life and career Momoi was born in Tokyo, Japan. At the age of 12, she traveled to London to study dance at the Royal Ballet Academy. After 3 years, she returned to Tokyo. She graduated from Japan's Bungakuza School of ...

- *

Ryuhei Matsuda is a Japanese film and television actor. Matsuda's best known film roles include the young and desirable samurai Sōzaburō Kanō in ''Taboo'' and the rock star Ren Honjo in ''Nana''. Early life Matsuda was born on 9 May 1983 in Tokyo, to Yūsa ...

- * Ryôsuke Miki - Hampeita Takechi * Yuya Uchida - Spirit *

Masumi Okada was a professional actor, singer, stand-up comedian, and film producer. Also known by his nickname "Fanfan", he was born in Nice, France, to a Japanese father, Minoru Okada, who was an artist, and a Danish mother, Ingeborg Sevaldsen, who was th ...

- Politician *

Hiroki Matsukata , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor. He was the son of ''jidaigeki'' actor Jūshirō Konoe and actress Yaeko Mizukawa and has a younger brother, Yūki Meguro, who is also an actor. With ex-wife actress Akiko Nishina he had tw ...

- *

Hiroshi Katsuno is a Japanese actor.　He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Katsuno's debut was as a detective Texas in the television series Taiyō ni Hoero! in 1974 and he won great popularity through the role. The episode his character Texas was killed ...

- Samurai *

Masato Masato (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Masato (kickboxer) (born 1979), Japanese former welterweight kickboxer, won K-1 WORLD MAX kickboxing tournament in 2003, 2008 * Masato ...

- Samurai *

- Monk * Takeshi Caesar - Samurai *

- The Prime Minister * Daijiro Harada - Judge *

Renji Ishibashi , born is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 15th Hochi Film Award for '' Rōnin-gai''. Filmography Film Television Video game * '' Yakuza: Dead Souls'' - Oyassan References External links * Renji Ishib ...

- Samurai *

Mickey Curtis is a Japanese actor, singer and Media Personality. He was born to English-Japanese parents. A pivotal figure in Japanese popular music, Mickey is considered one of the three big Japanese names in rock music, helping to popularize the genre in ...

- Monk *

- *

Taisaku Akino is a Japanese actor. In 1970, he married actress Kiwako Taichi. They later divorced. Selected filmography Films *''It's Tough Being a Man'' (1969) as Kawamata Noboru *'' Tora-san's Cherished Mother'' (1969) as Kawamata Noboru *''Tora-san's G ...

Hiroyuki Nagato , stage name of Akio Kato (加藤晃夫), was a Japanese actor. He starred in ''Season of the Sun'', '' Endless Desire'', '' My Second Brother'', '' Stolen Desire'', and '' Sukeban Deka'', and ''Yo-Yo Girl Cop''. Life and career Nagato was bo ...

- Elder *

Susumu Terajima is a Japanese actor. Though he has played a wide range of characters, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of ''yakuza'' figures, most notably in the films of Takeshi Kitano. Terajima made his acting debut in 1986's ''A Homansu''. He ...

- *

Saburō Shinoda is a Japanese actor who has played roles in films and television dramas. He signed with Daiei film and made his film debut with ''Gan'' in 1966. He is famous for playing the role of Kotaro Higashi in ''Ultraman Taro''. He is the only original U ...

Ken Ogata , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor. Life Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's ''The Pillow Book'', Paul Schrader's '' Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'' and Shohei Imamura's ...

- *

Joe Yamanaka , better known as , was a Japanese singer and actor. He is known for both his work with Flower Travellin' Band and as a solo musician; singing at a vocal range of three octaves. As an actor, he appeared in many television shows and movies, such ...

Awards

''Izo'' was awarded the best

Special Effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

prize at the

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

(Spanish international festival specializing in fantasy and horror films).

External links

* * Reviews
dinaMiike – review and interpretationd+kazMidnight EyeNippon Cinema
See also *

References

2004 films 2000s action films 2004 fantasy films Films directed by Takashi Miike Films set in the 19th century 2000s Japanese-language films Japanese action films Samurai films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub