Japan 130 Mins
Reiji (Toma Ikuta) is a hopeless policeman, who is fired then rehired as a mole to go into a Yakuza organisation and weed out the drug importers. Along the way, he befriends one of the main guys in the organisation, (who, perhaps naively, does not believe his family deals in drugs), battles repeatedly with a mysterious, short, bald villain with diamond-covered teeth, and finally loses his virginity to the policewoman he loves in an uncomfortable scene (he walks away without forcing himself on her, but geez it had unneccessary sexual aggression that almost ruined the film).
By director Takashi Miike who directed Ace Attorney that screened at MIFF a few years ago, The Mole Song was the one film that I was determined to not miss this year. Based on a manga book, like Ace Attorney, it mixes film with animation in a ridiculous fashion. It’s violent, but wonderfully so. It was really disappointing that Reiji came on so strong in the sex scene (especially because it would have been possibly even more funny played in other ways), but once she took the upper hand, even that scene became humourous. It was long, but I didn’t mind that at all. I just love the insanity of it.
The Mole Song – Undercover Agent Reiji is screening at 8:45pm on Wednesday August 6 at Hoyts and at 6:15pm on Saturday August 9 at the Capitol. Book tickets at MIFF or call 9662 3722
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