Violent Cop = Sono otoko kyobo ni tsuki (D)

Takeshi Kitano’s aptly named “Violent cop” is a sadistic and offbeat exercise in screen violence. Expected comparisons to the gleeful revenge soaked fantasies and moral righteousness of the Dirty Harry series are quickly dissipated by Kitano’s deadpan, morally ambiguous protagonist and the unexpected comic moments sandwiched between the painful and bleak depictions of violence. ‘Beat’ Takeshi plays a hardened cop whose special brand of rough justice lands him in bad favor with his supervisors. Things begin to spiral out of control when he tries to help a corrupt colleague who has become involved with the Yakuza. To make matters worse his mentally unstable sister is also lured into the gang, accumulating into the inevitable bloody showdown. In Japanese with English subtitles Cast also includes Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Shigeru Hiraizumi and Shiro Sano.