History Film / Gozu

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* {{Yakuza}}

* AmbiguouslyGay: Several of the Nagoya denizens, particularly the guide.
* BadassLongcoat: Minami.

* CreepyCrossdresser: The staff of the cafe in Nagoya aren't actually villainous; just... really disturbing.
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:Minami is notably irritated by Ozaki's staring eyes.]]
* FanDisservice: Hoo boy.
* {{Gayngster}}: [[spoiler: Minami, and ultimately Ozaki. Possibly others.]]
* GenderBender

* JumpingTheGenderBarrier: Sort of, used symbolically.

* KillerRabbit: Played with. We'll never know if the cute Chihuahua in fact was a trained Yakuza attack dog.
* LethalChef: The chicken custard.
* MindScrew: Even when you know what the movie is about.

* {{Reincarnation}}

* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Boss]] does this due to a fatal rectal stimulus.

* OutWithABang: See GoOutWithASmile.

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* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:Minami is notably irritated by Ozaki's starring eyes.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: The film makes almost no sense at all without the realization that, not only is nearly everything symbolic, it uses symbols and tropes drawn from several entirely unrelated sources ([[spoiler: mainly Japanese and Greek mythology, as well as psychological metaphors for the main character's coming to terms with his homosexuality]]).

It was originally planned as a straightforward action movie intended for the DirecttoVideo market (the Original Video market, as is called in Japan, does not have the same stigma of poor quality attached to it as it does in many other countries), but it Miike found the screenplay was far too ambitious for the budget. Rather than turning down the project, Miike decided to run with it. He asked Sato Sakichi to completely re-write it, and Sakichi did so in so short a time that he claims he was pretty much writing from his subconscious. After a successful screening at Cannes, it was released theatrically. The new script was produced in two weeks; and much of the dialog, particularly for pivotal scenes, is completely improvised.

''Gozu'' is probably the flat-out strangest, most [[MindScrew mind-bending]] movie from TakashiMiike; a Japanese auteur who has made built his repuations on movies which are some combination of [[RuleOfSymbolism bizarre symbolism]], BlackComedy, DarkerAndEdgier, and {{Gorn}}.

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Averted with Minami.

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Averted with Minami.

* BiggusDickus: The size of Minami's manhood is a recurring topic.

* VillainousCrossdresser: The staff of the cafe in Nagoya aren't actually villainous; just... really disturbing.

!!This movie contains examples of:

* MaleGaze: The camera work when Minami scans sleeping Female Ozaki.

'''''Gozu''''' is probably the flat-out strangest, most [[MindScrew mind-bending]] movie from TakashiMiike; a Japanese auteur who has made built his repuations on movies which are some combination of [[RuleOfSymbolism bizarre symbolism]], BlackComedy, DarkerAndEdgier, and {{Gorn}}.

At first, the entire film seems to be just a collection of random weirdness. However, it actually makes sense with the knowledge that [[RuleOfSymbolism nearly all the characters and events]] which take place after the arrival in Nagoya [[spoiler: are based on events and figures from Greek and Japanese mythology]]; and that the entire story represents [[spoiler: Minami's sexual awakening, and his coming to terms with both his homosexuality and his love for Ozaki]].

* [[spoiler:HappyEnding: Boss is dead, brother returns to the world of the living via the vagina of a woman claiming to be his reincarnation, she takes a bath and the protagonist the girl and brother go out and have a good time... credits roll.]]

* [[spoiler: JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind]]: The entire story after the arrival in Nagoya can be seen as this.

* ThrowItIn: The store-owner's American wife knew no Japanese, and had to read her lines phonetically off cue cards posted above her head. She proved to be absolutely hopeless at anything resembling proper pronunciation or competent acting. Miike found the result interesting, and expanded it into the BreakingTheFourthWall moment mentioned above.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Although solid for most of the movie, the fourth wall is broken briefly in one of the very rare examples (possibly the only one) where the break is both comedic and oddly disturbing.

It was originally planned as a straightforward action movie intended for a theatrical release; but lacked a sufficient budget. Rather than turning down the project, Miike decided to run with it, completely re-wrote it, and released it DirectToVideo. The new script was produced in about a week; and much of the dialog, particularly for pivotal scenes, is completely improvised.

* KillerRabbit: Played with. We'll never know if the cute Chihuahua was in fact a trained Yakuza attack dog.

* MaleGaze: The camera work when Minami checks out sleeping Female Ozaki.

* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:Minami is notably irritated by Ozaki's starring eyes.

* IfIDoNotReturn: Ozaki is giving this speech in a overly dramatic manner right before he goes to face the yakuza car killer woman.

* IfIDoNotReturn: Ozaki is giving this in a melodramatic way before facing the yakuza car killer woman.

''Gozu'' is probably the flat-out strangest, most [[MindScrew mind-bending]] movie from TakashiMiike; a Japanese auteur who has made built his repuations on movies which are some combination of [[RuleOfSymbolism bizarre symbolism]], BlackComedy, DarkerAndEdgier, and {{Gorn}}.