Shissou ~ Dead Run~ (2005)

Country: Japan
Genre: human, drama, life&death, violence, ***
Format: movie
Cast: Tegoshi Yuya, Kan Hanae, Nakatani Miki, Toyokawa Etsushi, Osugi Ren, Terajima Susumu, Kase Ryo, Suguta Shun, Takahashi Hitomi, Emoto Tasuku,
Synopsis: In a small city called Hama people are divided into to groups - Shore and off-Shore, that do not get along as off-Shore people tend to be from lower social groups (like criminals). Shuji was 7 when he was impressed by Demon-Ken's kindness, when Demon-Ken gave him a lift to home. But few days later Demon-Ken was found dead in the woods. Years later in junior high Shuji still remembers Demon-Ken and finds some connection with Off-Shore. He and his friend find that a small church is being built there. At the same time his brother Shuichi, who has always been a top-student, is being suspended from school because of a cheating in test. That makes Shuichi's mental state collapse. Shuji finds hope and answers from the church and also he meets there Eri, but yakuza wants to buy the off-Shore area for building there a turism centre. One by one the houses of Off-Shore get destroyed in arsons. Everyones lives are changed by doubts and truth.
Rating: 4/5
It is a SABU movie, so there is everything you can see in "Troubleman" too (but the latter one was more romantic and easier that "Shissou"). It actually is crazy and total mind-******* movie. In the end I felt like I was going insane and that made the movie so great. It definitely is movie with one of the most serious topics (If I leave out based-on-true-life-events movies). The sickest thing is that everything what happens in the movie, is 100% possible in real life, even now!
It has a great scene capturing, but at the same time, many scenes are a little bit hard to understand, but in the end it is a total masterpiece!

Tegoshi Yuya played the main character Shuji. It was his first role in a movie (one of his first acting ever - only Division 1: 15 sai no blues was made some months before). Many times it seemed like Shuji was just a side-viewer in the whole story, getting into those situations because of other people. That´s why I was so furious when classmates started to block him from class. Shuji was not responsible for those things. Mostly I hated the former friend - I know that his hate for Shuji might have been caused by the fact that when the friend was said to be guilty, Shuji stayed away from him too. Shuji does many irresponsible things, I believe that it shows how big the impact all, what had happened, had on him.

I cannot say anything about the church and how he started to be religious (In real life Tegoshi Yuya is not a christian - at least there are no public information about him being it). He found hope and strength from The Bible. As I am not religious, then I do not know how to comment his views and stuff. I know that when he wanted to put his friend and brother to read The Bible and go to church, he kind of a did not thought that not all people find justice in it. I know that there many people who after living through hard things, do not find relief in the religion, but at the same time, some start to devote their life to God.  I liked that back then Tegoshi Yuya had that average Japanese boy look xD Now he is really charismatic and real ikemen-idol.

Shuichi's (I know, they really similar names) story is so sad. I believe that in real life it might happen too, that top student might lose his head after getting suspended. But it is so sad - no-one can really understand later and that makes hard for others to help. I loved how Shuichi's and Shuji's relationship was and how Shuji tired to help Shuichi. 
The leadgirl was Eri (Kan Hanae). She was really confident and smart girl, a little bit rebellious. I liked that she was able to live on (okey it was because she was unable to commit suicide, but still). Her story is sad too - it shows how some people just do not have luck in their lives. She reminded my one book, where a woman had lived through fire in her childhood (Not sure, but I think she lost her family in it), anyway it made a big impact on her, but she saw flames as red horses and then when she is older, she starts to set houses on fire to see horses again. Eri's situation is not like that, but it just reminded me the trauma. For me, the highlight of the movie was Eri's and Shuji's relationship. There was no emotions, just young first fonding (is there such word? okey, I could use words as devoting, attaching, fancying too, but "fond" seems to be more accurate for them, but I am not sure how the noun is) Eri and Shuji were similar to each other as well as different.
The whole movie is great mind-rape. It has so many changing-points were you just do not know what happens next, but in the end when you know so clearly what is going to happen, you wish from the bottom of your heart that something would happen and would go differently. I screamed "NOOOOO!! NOOO!! IT CANNOT HAPPEN!!" in the end like lunatic xD The movie is really disgusting and there is so much violence and (nicely said) sexual interests. It is said that sometimes something can be so sick and horrible, that it is beautiful. It is totally right for "Shissou ~ Dead run~". I recommend it to those who have strong nerves, want to be aghast and who want to blow up their emotional balance.