Genre:
Action
Release Date: 05/18/2004
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: Japanese
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 119 Minutes
Flags: Violence
Distributor/Studio: TLA Releasing
Combining yakuza,
science fiction, and vampire elements may sound like an outlandish recipe for campy excess in the United States, but former pinku eiga director
Takahisa Zeze plays things remarkably straight in this truly unique effort from Japan. In the near future, a group of desolate citizens spend their days and nights in Mallepa, a large refugee community located in the "Asian Special Economic Zone." Though brothers
Sho and
Shinji survive on the streets with a little resourcefulness and the help of friend
Toshi, an encounter with wounded vampire
Kei forever changes the course of their lives. Soon after taking
Kei back to their hideout so that the desperate vampire may recover, an angry gangster shows up to reclaim a stolen briefcase full of cash. Although
Kei is quick to make dinner out of the angry gangster, his efforts to keep his trio of friends from harm is too little too late when the determined gangster fires a fatal bullet into
Shinji. When
Sho and
Toshi plan to rip off a rival gang a decade later,
Kei follows and the team soon meets up with similar-minded Chinese troublemaker
Son (
Wang Lee Hom) and his sister
Yi-Che (
Zeny Kwok). Soon stalked by the revenge-thirsting rival gang, the trio lose track of their bloodsucking friend in the ensuing melee. It's not long before
Sho and
Son have a falling out and end up in rival gangs, but can the re-emergence of condemned vampire
Kei be enough to bring the two old friends back on the same side of the fence again?
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Average Review:
Number of reviews: 1
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Sarah Marie
from Roseville, MI
My new favorite movie!
I just watched this movie the other day, and I was blown away. Gackt Camui (Sho) and Hideto "Hyde" Takarai (Kei) are well known Japanese Rock singers, so I had pretty much expected the movie to be something just the fans could enjoy. I was way off. The movie has action, drama, vampires, themes of friendship, and more. There were moments when I was excited, laughing, and even crying. I feel this is a movie that can appeal to people of all different tastes. If my review doesn't convince you that this movie is worth seeing, see it anyway and try to prove me wrong.
I leave you with this, a lyric from the movie's theme song, Orenji no Taiyou (The Orange Sun), which I feel sums up the entire movie.
"All the joys and sadness, the countless encounters and partings, just as it did back then, the orange sun oversees them all." - written and performed by Gackt Hyde
