SHIELD OF STRAW (Wara no tate) (2013)

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Takao Osawa, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Matsushima Nanako, Gorô Kishitani, Masatô Ibu, Kento Nagayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kimiko Yo
RunTime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Scorpio East Pictures
Official Website: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/waranotate/index.html

Opening Day: 12 September 2013

Synopsis: Tokyo, the present day, June. The body of a seven-year-old girl, Ninagawa Chika, is found in the district of Kitazawa, west Tokyo, and the murder is blamed by her grandfather Ninagawa Takaoki (Yamazaki Tsutomu), multi-billionaire head of Ninagawa Industrial, on Kiyomaru Kunihide (Fujiwara Tatsuya) who was released from prison the previous October. Takaoki takes out a print ad offering a ¥1 billion (US$10 million) reward to anyone who can kill Kunihide. His two conditions are that (a) whoever kills him must also be tried and punished under the law and (b) Kunihide's murder must be authorised by the government. When a drug smuggler, Tanaka, who is sheltering Kunihide in Fukuoka, southern Japan, tries to kill him, Kunihide just manages to escape and turn himself into the Fukuoka police. Lieutenant Mekari Kazuki (Osawa Takao), a hotshot with the Security Police's Unit 4, is sent from Tokyo to bring Kunihide safely back to the district attorney's office for prosecution within 48 hours. The highly skilled Shiraiwa Atsuko (Matushima Nanako) goes with him, along with veteran Okumura Takeshi (Kishitani Goro) and the younger Kanbashi Masataka (Nagayama Kento). After surviving an attack by a policeman in Fukuoka, Kunihide is hospitalised, where the four meet him. Also coming along for the ride is Captain Sekiya Kenji (Ibu Masato), head of Fukuoka police. After Kunihide survives yet another attack, the sextet sets out for the two-hour flight to Tokyo in a massive convoy to the airport. But on a special website created by Ninagawa, Kunihide's exact location is shown for anyone to have a go at killing him. After more attacks, and the cancellation of the plane, the group decides to make the 1,200-kilometre journey by bullet train instead. But it soon becomes clear there's a mole working for Ninagawa among them.

Movie Review:

If nobody told you, you probably wouldn’t have guessed that the director of this movie is Takashi Miike, the notorious scriptwriter/filmmaker of many controversial and ‘objectionable’ films. Who would have known that he would be equally good in handling drama as well?

The Shield of Straw is a fast-paced action-thriller that centers the security police’s seemingly absurd mission to escort a pedophile murderer. Five elite police are carefully selected to escort the murderer from Fukuoka to Tokyo (that’s approximately the distance from Singapore to the borders of Thailand!). However, their mission is severely impeded because of the reward put up by a multi-billionaire (whose granddaughter was sexually abused and killed by Kiyomaru brutally): ¥1 billion (US$10 million) to anyone who can put Kiyomaru (Fujiwara Tatsuya) to death. There had already been several attempts to assassinate Kiyomaru, and the fear continues to loom over. The worst enemy is no longer the ordinary civilians, but rather personnel who are combat trained with weaponry.

Is this unscrupulous and immoral person worth the police to risk their lives to protect? Why are you stopping people from giving him his rightful retribution? Many questions boggle your mind as you watch this film. There is simply too little time to make too many tough decisions. In the midst of protecting this scumbag, civilians are hurt, people are terrorized, the police lose their lives! All these for the face of the police force and in the name of a ‘good cause’?

If one were to describe this film in no more than one sentence, it would be ‘more than meets the eye’. Possibly thanks to the strong backing from the novel, the narrative of this film involved many well worked twists and turns. It keeps you engaged and wanting to know what is the next move. The main characters, the murder Kiyomaru Kunihide (Fujiwara Tatsuya) and key police Mekari Kazuki (Osawa Takao) and Shiraiwa Atsuko (Matushima Nanako), were certainly great value-adds to the film as well. In particular, Osawa Takao scores with his role of the police who is plagued with baggage from his past. The decisions he has to make break him down as a person and force him to his limits – truly affecting and stunning performance.

It isn’t hard to know why this film was actually nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Although it is not a winner, the film deserves some rightful attention. Director Takashi Miike has captured well the raw emotions of the human beings with well worked camera angles, intense yet balanced with action and thrill. The overall tone of the movie was also well maintained. What’s impressive is also its ability to challenge and ‘make you think’, without coming across as too deliberate or forceful. To top it off, the film ending was very poignant that may prick you even as the credits roll. Remember, it’s more than meets the eye. 

Movie Rating:

(Every single person is capable of doing both good and bad. Just which side do you choose to stand by today?)

Review by Tho Shu Ling