” I’ll take the job.” – Duke Togo
As fan of Osamu Dezaki, I knew him for his TV work. For his adaptations of literature classics like Ie Naki Ko (Remi) and Takarajima (Treasure Island), but also popular mangas like Riyoko Ikeda’s Versailles no Bara (Rose of Versailles). But regarding his cinematographic productions, I never had much chance to see his movies. And to begin the discovery of his cinema work, I first started with Golgo 13. A film based on Takao Saito’s manga series where a Japanese hit man known only by his pseudonyms Golgo 13 and Duke Togo is employed by various rich customers to assassinate specific individuals his clients want eliminated. In the massive majority of cases Duke takes, he murders people linked to powerful and corrupt corporations, crime organisations, and scandalous histories. Making this professional hitman an antihero whose actions ironically serve justice to avenge the victims of those criminals.
But during this movie, Golgo 13 realises that his shooting of Robert Dawson, the son of powerful oil tycoon Leonard Dawson, has caused the father to purchase the FBI, CIA and the Pentagon’s most powerful soldiers and elites to track Golgo down and murder him. To avenge his son’s death. A death that exposes furthermore the heart of that powerful businessman who controls the USA with his corporate empire. A man whose money has corrupted his soul and who has exploited it underground, through various shady deals during the United States’s history. An abuse of power that has obliterated everything that made Leonard Dawson an honest man in his youth; rendering him into a heartless individual.
Visually, Osamu Dezaki is at the top of his game. As he storyboards all his projects, his camera angles are sublime. Never gratuitous, every shot has a narrative purpose that tells through images everything that the spectator needs to know. An they include some pretty awesome camera effects (repetitive movements, multi-angles, etc.). And knowing his tendency to polish, like a showrunner does, all scripts the screenwriters write, you can see that he took time to make sure the work Shukei Nagasaka wrote here would be as good as the visuals of this film.
About the CGI employed at a key moment, though their effects are the first ones ever employed in Japanese animation and though they will look outdated today, their presence shows how Dezaki was trying to push boundaries with his visuals. Tried to be innovative.
Thematically, the script is particular. Indeed, it explores the insensitivity of our world. Cruel adults destroying in cold blood or through power struggles the lives of others while a professional hitman (cruel and heartless job) does actions which ironically bring justice to innocent people. Justice the rest of the world will never realise. From a hitman that never smiles, never shows the slightest emotion. An insensitive robot that can nevertheless bring out elements of subtle kindness toward others. In sum, Golgo 13 displays an ambiguous angle of our world and its injustices; which can spark interesting discussions between viewers after watching the film.
As for the other visual attributes of the film, we must also applaud the other comrades working alongside Osamu Dezaki. First things first, Akio Sugino, whose excellent character designs and animation direction bring out a poetic flair to the film. Especially through Sugino’s iconic Postcard moments; which consist of freeze frames rendered in pastels or wooden coloured pencils. Then, Hirokata Takahashi, whose cinematography is as refined as his works on Cobra, Takarajima, and Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl Moving Castle. Finally, Shichiro Kobayashi, an artist whose backgrounds work with Dezaki have been constant and as stunning as those in Remi and Takarajima. Making you feel like the settings we see in the film are not just drawings, but actual locations brimming with life.
In sum, these three comrades are also part of the reasons why Golgo 13 is such a success with moviegoers and fans of Dezaki and Takao Saito.
As for the DVD Diskotek Media gave, I like how they added the commentaries of Osamu Dezaki and his producer Mataichiro Yamamoto. The two persons speak about the importance of making a film as in a team, but also enjoy some hilarious moments during certain scenes. Which show how Dezaki is quite a funny guy, which I already saw in Versailles no Bara‘s DVD featurettes.
As for the English dub, I did find it good, but not as good as the Japanese voices, whose acting was subtle. Indeed, as Osamu Dezaki stated in his commentary, he really tried to be a great actor’s director with his voice actors. And the end result is evident as everyone’s performances are impeccable. Never overacting, always respecting the tonality of the scene.
In the end, Golgo 13 is a must to watch if you enjoy anime, Osamu Dezaki’s films, or any action drama movie that get you out of your comfort zone.
Omnes's Oasis 