First Love (2019)

Takashi Miike is one of the world's most prolific directors - having directed over one hundred theatrical, video and television productions since his debut in 1991. He is best known to Western audiences for the ultra-violent Itchi the Killer (2001), and cult horror Audition (1999), but is in slightly more offbeat fare such as this year's First Love (Hatsukoi in the original Japanese) where his talents truly shine.

The film follows young amateur boxer Leo (played with brilliant understatement by Masataka Kubota) who through some brilliantly implausible twists of circumstance, crosses paths with reluctant escort Monica (Sakurako Konishi) - ultimately leading to a chain of events which will see the pair encounter the full force of the Yakuza, Tokyo Police, Chinese mafia and an assassin with a heart of gold over the course of one rollercoaster of a night.

Playing out like True Romance crossed with Free Fire, with a liberal dusting of Tarintino-esque comedic violence, First Love is essentially an excellent B-Movie action picture, elevated to pseudo arthouse status by the simple fact of having subtitles. In fact, it is when Miike attempts to explore things on a slightly worthier level that the film starts to lose steam - a brief allusion to abuse in Monica's past seems ultimately unnecessary, and an overly philosophical conversation as the pair are being driven into the sunrise seems overwrought.

Of course it is the action where the movie really excels - from katana beheadings, to one armed shotgun wielding, to anime inflected car chases, this is crowd pleasing, OTT Japanese cinema at it's absolute finest. The only criticism of this is that can sometimes feel a little repetitive as we see yet another Yakuza bite the dust, but Miike generally finds enough new and interesting ways for them to be dispatched to pique the interest.

The film has a wonderful sense of place. Incidental scenes in downtown noodle bars and on the Tokyo Metro are incredibly evocative, and the slightly seedy boxing club where Leo's bouts take place feels just the ride side of underground.   

First Love is also frequently laugh out loud funny (in fact, as the title suggests, one could almost consider it a rom-com) with inept gangsters, unlikely coincidences and snappy dialogue all eliciting considerable mirth from the audience. 

This is a fantastic return to form from a hugely prolific and influential filmmaker. Hopefully director Bong Joon Ho's call for audiences to get over the "one inch barrier" presented by subtitles will persuade a wider audience to seek out this fun, frantic and wholly idiosyncratic piece of cinema.