Shangri-La

Miike does Preston Sturges with this delightful and ebullient comedy about a group of homeless people living in a utopian shantytown on the outskirts of Tokyo led by a man known as The Mayor (frequent Miike collaborator and Dead or Alive co-star Sho Aikawa in a big blonde wig), who join up with an out-of-work writer (Shiro Sano, Godzilla Millennium) and a soon-to-be-bankrupt print shop owner (Yu Tokui, Shall We Dance?) to teach a lesson, The Sting-style, to the rich and corrupt CEO (avant-garde butoh choreographer Akaji Maro) who’s responsible for the printer’s misfortune. Reminiscent of the films of director Juzo Itami (A Taxing Woman, Tampopo), Shangri-La is Miike at his most humanistic, and generally lacking his trademark violence and bloodshed. But being a Miike film, there’s still plenty of room for odd characters, weirdness and revenge, albeit of the humorous kind this time around. A hard-to-find title and one of the most entertaining movies in the director’s large filmography, this will be an extremely rare 35mm screening.

Series: Shinjuku Outlaw: 13 From Takashi Miike

Venue: Walter Reade Theater