crossbow0106 Shinya Tsukamoto's unique vision is fairly amazing. I thought the better known "A Snake Of June" was brilliant and provocative, but this film is also, even though they are hardly about the same thing. Mr. Tsukamoto, who produced, edited, wrote and directed this, also stars in it as Goda, a commericals director whose girlfriend has killed herself with a gun. Goda's life and reason unravels, and he obsesses with finding a gun. He falls in with a gang of disenfranchised youth in Tokyo's Shibuya (the Harajuku district, which is next to Shibuya in Tokyo, is a prime place for these young people still) and gets involved in a gang fight as well as other violence. The film was shot in black and white, which was an excellent idea, since the film is too stark to be in color. This is not for casual film goers, but fans of Tarantino and Darren Aronofsky's work will like this. Mr. Tsukamoto has created a film about the lure of non-redemption and brilliant shoots it almost documentary style. The other characters, especially the brooding model like Kirina Miao as Chisato, are also good, but this is Mr. Tsukamoto's film. Obtain the DVD, which has an interview with him taken years later in which he answers certain questions about the film. It is a candid view of his process and idea. This movie is very in your face and its effectiveness in spreading the message of violence and hopelessness is fascinating. I highly recommend it.

dvd_collector Hi everyone. I am huge fan of Japanese cinema. I have already watched movies form Takeshi Kitano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Toshiaki Toyoda and Yôji Yamada. Also I very like Roman Polanski works (Rosemary's baby, Tenant), Chan-Wook Park (Mr. vengeance, Oldboy...), Kim Ki-Duk (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring ...) Can somebody recommend me more movies like Bullet Ballet, movies than contain exploration of human nature, especially their dark side. It isn't necessary that it is Japanese movie, or what is the movies age. All it matters is, that is contains such themes.Thanks for help.

CelluloidRehab Shinya Tsukamoto (the director) takes up the lead role, Goda. Goda seems to be your average guy. On the way home he listens to his girlfriend sing on the phone to him. Life is good. As soon as he gets home, he finds out that his girlfriend shot herself in their apartment. Depressions sets in. He wants to know why. He doesn't understand why she did it ? Who gave her the gun ??Goda is a pretty successful commercial director, who seems (to others like his friend and coworkers) to be dealing with the loss quite well. It is even mentioned that he has not even taken one day off. From there he spirals into this underworld search for the reason his girlfriend killed herself and a gun. He is runs into Chisato (leather clad mannequin-like woman wishing to die, it seems) and the bait is taken. He is beaten up and his money taken, yet he continues to follow Chisato and her gang. The funniest aspect of the movie is Goda's attempt to get a gun. He is rejected by most dealers (who are mostly gaijin and are selling only drugs) and is even sold a water gun filled with sand. He follows this with an equally funny series where he orders gun parts and assembles his own gun, complete with bullets. The funny part is when he actually tries to use the gun.Shinya Tsukamoto continues the visual style that we are used to seeing from him. This movie is black and white and is quite industrial looking. There is some action (which is usually pretty graphic), but that is only the vehicle for the "story". I had heard a lot about this movie, and had seen 4 of the director's previous movies (Tetsuo, Snake of June, Gemini and Tokyo Fist). I was quite bored and disappointed with the movie. The director does a pretty good job at playing Goda, however, the rest of the cast is a little cardboard. I think there is suppose to be a unconventional love story in there (Chungking Express on acid), however, its quite flat, not to mention that the actress playing Chisato is quite annoying. I think getting someone straight off the street would have done a better job. I have seen other avant-garde movies, some which made less sense than this movie, however, they were more interesting visually and/or conceptually. I think the Tetsuo length would have been more appropriate for this movie (namely 60 minutes instead of 90). I would not recommend this movie. If you want to see a good Shinya Tsukamoto movie, go see Tokyo Fist. If you want to see an avant-garde Shinya Tsukamoto movie, go see Tetsuo or Snake of June.

D Throat Bullet Ballet starts out as a fine movie: man wants to avenge his wife, who had connections with a criminal organization. But how does he, a businessman, get a gun? The first 45 minutes deal with this and his search for the criminals: it is turning out to be a sort of Japanese Taxi Driver... But then during a gang fight the story shifts, to its demise, unfortunately. From then on you're looking at a lost cause, as every thread of plot from the first half is trashed and an entirely new movie appears, a very bad movie. Too bad, since Tsakamoto has made some fine movies before.