ben hibburd I'm happy I can finally say now that I've watched a great Takashi Miike film. Rainy Dog retains all the gritty, stylish motifs that Miike is known for, but this time his story is grounded in reality. Rainy Dog tells the story of a struggling Japanese hit-man that hates the rain as he's living out in Taiwan. His world is upheaved when a woman from his past informs him that he has a son, which she dumps on him.The film then goes from being a gangster flick into a hybrid coming of age story as both the father and son as they adapt to their situation. Whilst the father is also trying to evade a local crime boss who's after him. Rainy Dog is a quiet, slow paced introspective film. This film worked well for me as i'm not a fan of Miike's usually hyper-kinetic direction and the over the top silliness that's found in most of his screenplays. This film has an engaging narrative, even if it borders occasionally on clichés that are found in the gangster genre. There's nothing wholly original in this film. However what makes it work though is how well directed the film is and the serious thoughtful approach given to the script.The films cinematography has a wonderful atmospheric tone, the whole film is literally drenched in rain which adds another layer on emotion on top of the film. The film also has fleshed out interesting characters, that whilst flawed, they're also sympathetic and relatable. One of the main issue I have with Miike's films are the poor characterisations, most of the time his characters feel like cartoons. Here he goes a great job of making them feel human. In the end Rainy Dog is a familiar but effective crime drama, and is one of Miike's best films.

gavin6942 A Japanese assassin (Show Aikawa) stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet, when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him. In a broad sense, the narrative follows in the tradition of Kenji Misumi's "Lone Wolf and Cub" (1972), as well as Luc Besson's "The Professional" (1994), which had a strong influence on Miike. In all three, a much-too-young child follows in the footsteps of a killer.Show Aikawa, who also appears in Miike's "Ley Lines" (1999), may be best known to American audiences for his role in "Pulse" (2001). He is given the full weight of this film. Unlike Miike's earlier film "Shinjuku Triad Society", this is really a one man show, and Aikawa excels.Also unlike the earlier film of the so-called Black Society Trilogy, this is a more "subdued" story, with a slower pace. We have the grit of assassins and prostitutes that you might expect from a noir or crime story. But the excessive, over-the-top violence that Miike is known for is all but absent here. What remains constant between the two is that sense of moral ambiguity. The depravity is not as strong, but the lines are just as blurry.A film scholar could write a lengthy discourse on the symbolism in "Rainy Dog", especially on the title and the appearance of "dog themes". There is, of course, a literal dog out in the rain, but there is much more -- one character marks his territory as a dog would, there are instances of Chinese-Japanese "mutts". Even the idea of a professional killer could be seen as parallel with a hunting dog, doing his master's bidding.The film had previously been released under the "Asia Extreme" banner, which was likely misleading for some consumers. For their Blu-ray, Arrow Video has Miike expert Tom Mes provide an all-new commentary (which is better than his commentary on "Shinjuku). Also, "Rainy Dog" gets bonus points for containing a nice nod to "Gamera".

Andrei Pavlov Though I did not quite understand: - why that killer was after the main anti-hero, - why the anti-hero was walking about with his gun through the streets (taking it out too early before real shootouts) as if it were a simple umbrella, and - why there is a scene with the mobsters who are firing at the car at close range and hit nothing (!), the movie is still good.I agree to nearly every comment here (as per 08/11/07). It's in such films, when the talent of a director gets revealed. If you can make a captivating movie without rushing tempo, gallons of blood, all-out sex, and stylish trashy dialogues, then you are not another glamorous flicker but have something substantial to offer the viewers.The main character of the movie is, of course, Mr Rain. It floods, leaks, spills, pours, streams, evaporates, bubbles, hits, drops, and runs. The scene with the rain against the hot iron is the most impressive. The first time I saw it, I did not quite get it, thinking that it was a kind of special effect.8 out of 10, it could have been better, I guess (more different types of soothing music and a wrecked car would have been suitable). Thank you for attention.

Infofreak One of the first Takashi Miike movies I ever saw was 'Dead Or Alive' and shocked me because it didn't play by "the rules", adding unexpected surreal touches to the violent yakuza thriller genre. I reacted very negatively to the movie at the time, but I subsequently grew to admire it the more I got into Miike's groove. Now that I'm familiar with Miike's more extreme movies like 'Ichi The Killer' and 'Visitor Q' I'm prepared for just about anything, but I was once again a bit nonplussed the first time I watched 'Rainy Dog'. Not because it was outrageous, but because it wasn't. 'Rainy Dog' is nothing like Miike's other early yakuza movies like 'Fudoh: The New Generation' and 'Full Metal Yazuza'. Anyone expecting the ultra-violent action and crazy humour of those two will be disappointed. Instead 'Rainy Dog' is a slow, atmospheric character study, very serious and dark in tone. Miike regular Sho Aikawa plays Yuuji a low level hit man exiled in Tawain. Yuuji is depressed from the relentless rain and becoming increasingly alienated. He sees no reason to his monotonous existence. One day a former lover (his wife?) turns up with a young boy (his child? It's not clear) who she dumps. Yuuji ignores the child who camps outside his flat and tags along on his hits. The boy seems to slowly humanize him, as does a prostitute he becomes involved with, but perhaps it is too late. Yuuji's life of violence is about to catch up with him. Miike makes great use of the rain soaked locations, and the movie is interesting for the fact that apart from Aikawa and another one of his regular actors Tomorowo Taguchi the cast is Tawainese and much of the dialogue is in Mandarin. The soundtrack regularly features a Ry Cooder-like slide guitar, and overall the movie has more in common with Takeshi Kitano's yakuza movies that Miike's. 'Rainy Dog' isn't one of Miike's most outrageous movies but it's still recommended and shows a more thoughtful side to this amazing director.