When one thinks of the cowboy Western names like John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Howard Hawks and John Huston might come to mind but Japanese new wave and cult director Miike Takashi would probably be the last person you would think of being on that list, that is until now. With his recent "Sukiyaki Western Django" Miike pays loving tribute to the western genre and infuses it with his own unique spin and a decidedly Japanese flair.<br /><br />Set in what appears to be a dusty post-apocalyptic wasteland, the story deals with a bitter rivalry between two vicious clans - the brutal Heike (whose color emblem is a bloody scarlet red) and the flashy Genji (whose banners are a snow colored white). They have taken over a remote mountain village in a region oddly called "Nevada" (using Japanese Kanji equivalents). <br /><br />Both factions have learned of a mythic gold depository in the surrounding area and have torn the village apart to find it but to no avail. The local inhabitants have long since fled and those that have stayed behind have been living in terror ever since. <br /><br />A mysterious gun fighter with no name (Ito Hideaki) rides into town and offers his services to the clan who offers to pay him the most. While both clans make tempting bids, the gun fighter rejects both offers and is instead swayed to hold off joining either faction by the town's salon madam, Ruriko (Momoi Kaori).<br /><br />Ruriko tells the stranger of how the town was taken over by the clans and how her son, Akira was killed by them. Akira was a former Heike clan member who had fallen in love with the beautiful Shizuka (Yoshino Kimura), a member of the rival clan. They had hoped that their union would help encourage peace between the two clans but instead Akira is murdered by the Heike's ruthless leader Kiyomori (Sato Koichi). <br /><br />Devasted she returns to her clan with her young child Heihachi, where she is forced to become a harlot to the clan's charismatic and mercurial leader Yoshitsune.<br /><br />As the conflict comes to an impasse both sides scheme at how to gain the upper-hand. Kiyomori tells his clansmen that it is divine destiny that they will win the conflict and sites Shakespeare's "Henry VI" and the English conflict of the "War of the Roses" (where the red side wins) as his bible. He is so sure of this that he adopts the name "Henry".<br /><br />On the Genji side, Yoshitsune has found the location of a hidden cache of weapons including a functioning Gatling gun which he hopes will give his clan the advantage. He sends his chief henchman, Benkei (Ishibashi Takaaki) to retrieve the weapon.<br /><br />The gun fighter learns of this plan from Shizuka and relays the information to the Heike clan.<br /><br />For her betrayal Shizuka is brutally murdered by the Genji clan and the gun fighter is severely injured. Nursed back to health the gun fighter teams up with Ruriko, who reveals herself to be the legendary gun fighter "B.B." who was a protégé of one of the first western gunmen in Japan, "Bingo" (cameo by Quentin Tarantino) to destroy the clans and bring peace to the town. <br /><br />Miike and screenwriter NAKA(Masa)MURA borrow liberally from other westerns particularly the landmark "Italiano-Westerns" of Sergio Leone (Fist Full of Dollars, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly") and Sergio Corbucci (Django) as well as the so-called "Acid-Westerns" of Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo) but adds in his own unique aspects and New Wave flourishes to create a Japanese version of the classic western albeit with a decidedly Japanese look and feel. The name is both a play on "spaghetti" (Italian) westerns and an anecdote where "sukiyaki" (Japanese nabemono or "stew") combines various elements in a pot. <br /><br />Much has been said of Miike's decision to script the dialog entirely in English but I think the cast should be commended for actually pulling off what might have turned into a comical disaster. It also helped that Miike had the good fortune of hiring actors who have either lived or studied extensively abroad.<br /><br />Ito Hideaki (Crossfire, Limit of Love-Umizaru) plays the titular Clint Eastwood role as the "man with no name"/gun fighter. His performance is good but one note as he doesn't really have much range and his lines are minimal. Sato Koichi (Cheerful Gang Turns The Earth, Tennen Kokekko) is pure evil as "Taira No Kiyomori" who fancies himself after Shakespeare's "Henry VI". His performance brings to mind Mifune Toshiro's Kikuchiyo in "Seven Samurai" (manic, bestial, and cocksure of himself). <br /><br />Fashion model turned actor Iseya Yusuke (Casshern, Memories of Matsuko) turns in another fantastic performance as the vicious yet wickedly handsome "Minamoto No Yoshitsune", a man who fancies himself as the embodiment of the Japanese "Samurai spirit". Iseya is quickly making a name for himself playing quirky roles and whose intensity and presence reminds me a lot of the late Heath Ledger. <br /><br />London born Yoshino Kimura (Sakuran, The Backdancers) brings much passion, dignity and raw sexuality to her part as the tragic Shizuka. Momoi Kaori (Bounce No Ko Gal, Memoirs of a Geisha), who was also educated in London, is clearly at home with the English dialog and turns in a terrific performance as Ruriko.<br /><br />Ishibashi Takaaki (one half of 80s comedy duo "Tunnels")steals the spotlight as Yoshitsune's sexually ambiguous henchman as does Kagawa Teruyuki (HERO, Tokyo.Sora) as the cowardly and opportunistic sheriff who seems almost possessed at times.<br /><br />Following the heals of great modern western-themed movies and remakes of late like "No Country for Old Men" and "3:10 To Yuma", Miike's "Sukiyaki Western Django" is a fun and unique take on the western and as it's name suggests offers a clever take with a Japanese bent. Like trendy Asian "fusion" cuisine, "Sukiyaki" takes the best of both worlds and offers up something new yet oddly familiar. Bon appetite!