If someone both hated black-and-white films and movies with subtitles, I would encourage them to see this corker. It has 'hilarious masterpiece' written all over it. Suzuki's gangster movies are a cinephile's delight, to be sure--and this is one of his very best. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you need a really good laugh, love cinema and haven't seen it yet, I would recommend you RUN to your nearest film…

Branded to Kill is a supposedly hard-boiled action film that gradually turns into an absurd dark comedy, drifting through disconnected scenes and bizarre imagery. Revolving around a chubby-cheeked assassin obsessed with the smell of boiling rice, the film constantly undermines the conventions of gangster cinema with surreal humor and chaotic energy. Seijun Suzuki transforms what could have been a routine hitman…