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Ichi the Killer

Ichi the Killer

Action · Crime · Horror · 2001

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

Movie details

Ichi the Killer

“Love really hurts.”

2001 Action · Crime · Horror 2h 9m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Ichi the Killer?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Takashi Miike

Written by

Sakichi Sato

Tadanobu Asano

Tadanobu Asano

Kakihara

Nao Omori

Nao Omori

Ichi

Shinya Tsukamoto

Shinya Tsukamoto

Jijii

SABU

SABU

Kaneko

Paulyn Sun

Paulyn Sun

Karen

Susumu Terajima

Susumu Terajima

Suzuki

Shun Sugata

Shun Sugata

Takayama

Court is in session

Put Ichi the Killer on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.