The World of Kanako

Relentlessly unpleasant and ultimately banal.

I grew tired of the nihilism of "The World of Kanako" long before it was over, and I have a high tolerance for that sort of thing, so that has to be taken into account when assessing the overall product, but the quality of the filmmaking never flags.

Remorseless, repetitious and ultimately tedious.

It's a rush, albeit a dark and ever more disturbing one, kind of like taking some bad acid and mainlining Seijun Suzuki's greatest hits while being battered about the face and neck by a gang of yakuza thugs rolling hard on equally awful ecstasy.

Yakusho's breathless, riveting performance grounds The World of Kanako even as it threatens to devolve into an unbearable series of nihilistic plot twists and gory set pieces.

Amounts to little more than a wantonly nihilistic tale of one man's self-loathing unconvincingly passing itself off as a paternal revenge saga.

The nihilistic atmosphere eventually becomes so oppressive that it swallows everything in its path.

Whilst not a film for everyone due to its nihilistic attitude and frequent physical and sexual violence, The World of Kanako is a must-see for fans of off-beat cinema.

The World of Kanako is a mixed bag of cinematic influences and styles.

If you can handle the excessive nihilism, The World of Kanako may reveal itself to be something more than just a punishing journey, revealing a family rot that's been handed down from father to daughter.