Sukiyaki Western Django!

Sukiyaki Western Django, Takashi Miike’s outrageous takeoff on Spaghetti Westerns spoken in phonetic English, opens today. A mysterious gunman (Hideaki Ito) shows up in a town overrun by two rival gangs searching for hidden gold. There's the Heiki (in red, led by a leader who reads Shakespeare’s Henry V to his posse), and then there’s the Gengi (in white with a boyband-like handsome leader in white robes and brandishing a sword.) There’s even a legendary female gunslinger (Kaori Momoi) disguised as a salty general store owner whose daughter in-law thirsts for revenge. The goofy English attempt at tough-guy talk and brilliant art direction and costumes make for a deconstructive look at the Western. Even Quentin Tarantino shows up as a feared gunslinger. But damned if the story doesn’t grab you by the balls and eventually move you to tears, even while you’re shrieking with glee. One of Miike’s very best.