Shuffle (1981)

All style

Gakuryû Ishii's Shuffle is mostly just a short exercise in style if nothing else. Often extremely hectic and practically headache-inducing, it lacks any form of narrative or characterisation, Shuffle instead concentrates on two intercutting and unfocused subplots that ultimately amount to very little. Adapted from the legendary Katsuhiro Otomo's short manga, Run, although Ishii never actually asked for permission until after the film had been shot, go figure. Granted, the exhaustingly long chase through the Japanese streets which make up the majority of the film is shot in wild, semi-abstract patterns so that you're never quite sure what you're seeing and backed by a repetitive if memorable industrial synth score. You can certainly feel the influence Ishii's punk stylings would have on more modern Japanese cinema but I just wish there was a bit more meat on Shuffle's bones to really make me fall in love with its underground grim.

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