This is easily the worst, most confusing movie I've seen in quite some time."Miyuki Minazuki" (Makiko Esumi), known professionally as "Stray Cat", is part of the Assassin's Guild, and ranked #3 in it.She is given the job to kill the top assassin in the guild, known as "Hundred Eyes", and takes it.This movie is very hard to follow, especially if you must use subtitles if you can't find a dubbed version.The acting is horrible. Many times, the actors are overly dramatic, and act as if they should be on stage. There is a lot of rambling monologues that are quite confusing. None of the actors had any chemistry and appeared to be forced to work together on screen.As for the camera work, it's not perfect. There are some shots with pans that are too dramatic and make no sense. Other shots are real good, and help with the story on a visual level.For the subject of the story, there is very little violence and no blood in this movie. There is even little gun play in the film. Violence is kept to a minimum as well.The soundtrack is forgettable. It reminded me of music heard in movies from the 1970's. I didn't feel that the music helped enhance the scenes at all.There are some interesting visuals in this movie. At times I felt as if I was watching a stage play. A few times, the camera work helped enhance the scenes, but most of the time the shots were real typical.This movie lacked the ability to keep my attention through out. I caught myself looking away from my computer screen numerous times because I was completely bored with the movie. I watched this movie on Hulu, and got even more confused when my screen saver popped up.It was a hard movie to follow, especially since I had to read English subtitles. I really had a hard time following what was going on in this movie because my attention was focused on the bottom of the screen. It may have been the translation, but the dialog was pretty confusing at times, and I couldn't understand what was going on.Unless you are into this type of movie, I have to say skip it. It isn't for every one.

I was eager to see "Pistol Opera" for a variety of reasons. I had recently seen "Branded to Kill" and the idea of a follow-up/sequel/remake by the same director intrigued me. Furthermore, I am a fan of the lead actress, Makiko Esumi, from her work on Japanese TV.Sadly, this film goes nowhere...slowly. The plot seemed simple enough but within minutes I was lost. These "professional killers" spend nearly the entire film killing each other which begs the question who is employing these people and what purpose they serve. Lots of these scenes look wonderful and have some fun ideas, but nothing makes any sense. Characters deliver long, meandering soliloquies into the camera, flip-flopping from Japanese to English and back again. Neither language adds any clarity to the circumstances. The whole thing feels like some kind of experimental stage play, especially the final showdown where characters enter and exit bizarre scenery accompanied by strange, nearly naked dancers.What the hell?

This movie was a major disappointment. After a decade of retirement, director Seijun Suzuki returns with a "reworking" of his Branded to Kill. He's definitely either lost his touch or was overly influenced by others to push the envelope further on his abstract style.Too many times people try to hide rubbish behind the titles of "abstract" and "artistic style". That won't work here. Suzuki's camera work, settings and editing seem decidedly rusty. The zooms and tilts are awkward. The visuals seem forced, which is a fatal flaw for abstract.So yes, Suzuki retains his abstract style. He just doesn't execute it very well. Maybe he was away from the camera too long. Please see some of his earlier works for clearly superior filmmaking.Adding to the misery is atrocious acting. It takes skill to pull off the detached, unfocused sense of drama required for abstract. So here, more than ever, you need actors with this particular ability. Makiko Esumi is not one. I enjoyed her TV series (one of which single-handedly brought the mini-mini skirt to the forefront in Japan) but she is hopelessly out of her league here. She wouldn't have had the skill to bring Noraneko ("Stray Cat") to life in a well-executed rendition, much less salvage Suzuki's mess here.The rest of the cast, some of who are very skilled in their craft, act just as woodenly. So too much blame should not be cast at Esumi.So, from mind-numbingly boring "death scenes" to borderline pedophilia, this movie is almost certain to disappoint. Unless you are simply determined to be "cool" and decide to chalk all the shortcomings up to "abstract style", stay well away from Pistol Opera.I've never given a zero, and won't start here. I give one point for how good Esumi looked in her modified kimono and boots. I give another for Suzuki sticking with the style all the way through the (far too long) movie, when even he must have realized how badly it was failing.2 out of 10.

The summation of Suzuki's life's work. Will be perceived by the lazy audience -- such as the attendees of its screening at the 2002 Seattle International Film Festival -- as a series of style-tableaux and disappoint those hoping for a gem of a story, such as in 'Elling,' a piece of work fit to wrap a fish in. Much more than that -- Suzuki is one of the great Japanese auteurs of all time, -- his reputation hasn't grown to the stature of the big three (Kurosawa / Ozu / Mizoguchi) due to the surface inscrutability / surface "style" of his work. The truth of the matter is that there is great depth in the Suzuki canon. His "style" must be no more mistaken for simple "flashy cool" than one would regard Godard's work. 'Koroshi no rakuin' ('Branded to Kill') is a stunning tour-de-force that examines the emasculation of the male, vivisecting cinematically a one-time master-assassin's slide into madness. 'Pistol Opera' -- the "spiritual sequel" of 'Branded to Kill' (working title was 'Koroshi no rakuin 2') examines the theatricality of assassination -- that is, one of the manifestations of an individual's or society's pull -toward- a universal order. Another manifestation of which is a director's mise-en-scene, -- shot compositions are as meticulously constructed in Suzuki as in Kubrick -- the 1.33:1 aspect ratio of 'Pistol Opera' allows Suzuki the greatest control of the frame-"tableau." (cf. also Kubrick's 1.33:1 framing, employed for all films from 'The Shining' on) 'Pistol Opera' is one of the great masterpieces of our modern cinema.