Blood and Bones
Seville
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Beginning in 1920’s Japan, a violent Korean immigrant, Kim Sun-pei, abuses his family and fathers many children with several mistresses while turning into an organized crime tyrant over the next 60 years.

Fans of international cinema hopefully know about the work of Takeshi Kitano. Perhaps his biggest film to Canadian fans was the remake Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman from a few years ago or Battle Royale, the loose inspiration for 2007’s The Condemned (Battle Royale is actually good and intelligent, though). Although Kitano’s stuff isn’t readily available at the local franchise video store, it is worth tracking down. And while not his best film, Blood and Bones from director Sai Yoichi is a showcase for his acting talents.

Kitano plays Kim Sun-pei, an immigrant from Korea who moves to China in search of a good life filled with money. He moves there as a motivated young man and quickly becomes a ruthless husband who will stop at nothing to make more money. In his own eyes, Kim is a businessman. Others see him as a loan shark or Scrooge figure. And a violent one at that.

Blood and Bones is an epic told through the eyes of his youngest son. The family is filled with dysfunction and much of the blame falls on Kim who makes money the top priority over everything. He openly keeps a mistress on the side and then another one when things don’t work out.

Running two-and-a-half hours, Blood and Bones runs long. I’d argue unnecessarily so, at that. Much of the story exists to show how dark and without mercy Kim is. There’s not much of a deviation from this track. Rather it’s scene after scene of him exhibiting anger in some form or another. I generally like these sorts of stories that have a big scope to them, but there just isn’t enough here to justify it for me. That said it still is a strong film in many respects, particularly in the acting but it is also so exhausting to watch.

Video: How's it look?
The widescreen picture (1.78:1 aspect ratio) looks fantastic. The colour balance is very nice and the images are good and crisp.

Audio: How's it sound?
No dubbing here, just a Japanese 5.1 Dolby Surround track that captures the anger and hatred of the film. There’s also a Japanese 2.0 Stereo track as well. English and French subtitles are included, though.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• Sorry, folks. Just a movie here.

Closing Thoughts
Don’t expect an action movie or you’ll be sorely disappointed. Blood and Bones is good but somewhat disappointing. It’s a well crafted film in almost every respect except for the fact that it just keeps going and going. The lack of special features is also somewhat disappointing.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com