Auteur Takashi Miike - Star Brown

In the wide range of Asian cinema, one director seems to stand out from the rest, Takashi Miike. Miike has established himself as an autuer of extreme cinema throughout his short, but very prolific career. Although no two Miike films are exactly alike, most share three basic themes: family, bullying, chaos and order. Miike is a visionary director who's works have built him an army of cult fines worldwide through his boldness to take the viewer to a place where they dare think a director will go. Miike's unique filmmaking style has created a lot of controversy for him as well.

Miike's body of work spans many different genres from horror to comedy, from surreal to drama. No matter which genre the director works in, his stamp on the film can be seen through pristine and bold imagery that stays in the mind of the viewers. Takashi Miike is an auteur, no matter what type of film he is directing. Even before the press has a chance to write on the film there exists a mystique and an idea that daringly takes the viewer into a world where boundaries don’t exist.

One strong trait of Miike's work—his cinematic fingerprint one could say, is the way his films often attempt to break down surface level traditions and ideals that exist in Japanese society. With Audition, Miike tackled the subject of a middle-aged widow looking to replace his wife. The idea that marriage should not be based on love and admiration, rather convincingly was made into a mockery, which soon turned into a horror. With his film Visitor Q, Miike was to develop a film that would be a continuance on a series based on tales of love. What he developed instead was a spoof on Japanese reality TV that would show Japanese families as being ideally perfect. Many of his images were over the top and unforgettable, but instead of making a surface level film about family love, Miike went into the darkest area of his heart to display a message to the viewer that no matter how bad things get, family should always love one another. His touch on cinema makes it clear that he loves Japanese culture, but he sees it for what it is and to him true love and beauty often come from hate and ugliness.