A Disappointing Continuation

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Bored postman runs into an old school chum when making his rounds only to discover that he's now a member of the Yakuza (and being watched by the police who take an interest in the postman as a result). Spurred on by his friends tales about living a life where your heart beats fast our hero goes home and opens some of the undelivered mail. He becomes infatuated with a young girl who is dying in a hospital and he goes to meet her, making the acquaintance not only of the girl but a hit-man in the process… This is a good off kilter comedy that was my first introduction to the films of actor/director Sabu. I've seen him in some of the films that he's acted in but this was the first time I had seen a film he directed. I wasn't sure if the film was a comedy or not so there were times that I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be laughing, especially with some of the darker bits. This is a very good little film, certainly the sort of film that would not have been made in the West where some of the shifts in tone from comedy to something darker are either frowned upon or not handled well. Is it a great film, no, the film is a bit too rambling in some sections, but it is very good. (This isn't to say the rambling is bad, some of the rambling sections, where our hero listens to some of his "friends" tales, are some of the more enjoyable sections, the trouble is that as much as you like them you still wonder where it's all going) Certainly it's worth a look for anyone who is tired of the typical comedies, even of the edgier independent sort.

I know, it's a kinda old movie, but I recently found this in a shop and bought it right away. Of course it's always risky to just buy a movie because you think it looks kinda cool. But not with this one. I have to say, this is probably the best Japanese movie I've ever seen. It's touching, fascinating, funny (You don't even have to be Japanese to think it's funny (And that's mostly the case)), full of action and kinda crazy too. Believe me, you've never seen anything like this before. The story is full of little twists and you really can't predict any of the things that'll happen.Of course it get's a ten out of ten from me.People, watch it! It's totally worth your time!

I expected a comedy and found myself immersed in a predictable unbalanced piece of cinema....wait prehaps immersed isn't the right word..... Sabu really doesn't know what he's trying to make here, is it a comedy, crime thriller, romance? In my opinion this misses the nail completely in each genre he tries to conquer. Of course there are films that mix genres successfully, I'm not saying it cant work, but in this reviewers opinion "Posutoman burusu" doesn't. I laughed more at the film which, out of all the ones I've seen, I laughed the least at, henceforth this one. How many films do they make about the wrongfully accused? The romance element was tacky and short lived, those musical bonding scenes really pi*** me off and yet they are so overused in cinema, it's just a cheap excuse not to properly develop the characters. I am also sick of the much romantisised Yakusa films which I seem to see a lot of these days. The main reason this film is unbalanced is the inclusion of the sentimental violent drama aspect with the 'stupid comedy' aspect. Why would you have stupid cops who can't catch a guy who doesn't even know he's being followed teamed with overblown sentimentality when the main character is killed and he walks off to the afterlife with his cancer suffering girlfriend?? It's like combining "What's up doc?" with "Schindler's List". Aside from these criticisms, it does have some OK moments, the bicycle scenes were pretty good and some other bits were alright. The director has obviously tried hard to make this film and there are stylish bits that are well made but as a whole is just doesn't work.Choose a genre Sabu. 6/10

There's something in POSUTOMAN BURUSU for everybody: the romantic story, for women, about the postman who decides to date a woman on the brink of committing suicide; a quasi-detective story, where undercover cops try tracking down members of a yakuza gang; and a comical story, because they instead track down the postman since they think he may be their distributor, among other things. A light-hearted touch, involving the friendship between the postman and a washed-up hitman. Yeah, there's lots to find entertaining in this surprisingly flawless concoction of several genres by Japanese filmmaker, Sabu. What's great about POSUTOMAN is that the combo works!The film begins, when Ryuichi Sawaki, the postman (played by Shinichi Tsutsumi), is caught by undercover cops, not only mailing a letter to the member of a yakuza gang, but walking in and staying there for quite a while. This gives the cops the idea that he maybe their distributor, so they follow him home. [NOTE: For the sake of plot-pointing, the mailman stays in the yakuza's apartment because they're high school buddies. They were just talking about stuff]Returning home, they find him with bags of beer, figuring there may be other people inside.Inside, Sawaki goes through a bag of mail he hadn't the time to send. One letter he finds, that touches him, is one of a woman, Kyoko (played by Kyoko Toyama), who has sent mail to her boyfriend that he hasn't replied to, and she's so lonely she's thinking about committing suicide. This prompts Sawaki to meet her, and hopefully change her mind.The following day, after mailing his last batch of letters, he heads over to the Hospital where Kyoko is staying. He meets her, but only for a little while, she hands him a letter. He then meets a hitman, named Joe (played by Ren Osugi). These two have an engaging conversation on the lifestyles of assassins.He tells him about a hitman competition he was in, and looks pretty confident that he won it. But as we hear his story, the judges were very worried about his health: he's getting too old.Talking outside of the building, there are two undercover cops watching them from afar. Now, they figure the yakuza sent the postman to ask the hitman for a favor to kill someone.Back at home, Sawaki reads the letter Kyoko gave him to send. This is about the time when he falls in love with her. So the next day, he meets her and talks to her.Not looking all that confident about taking her on a date that moment, Kyoko gives a subtly sly speech about: "Not waiting to do something the next day, but instead, doing it now."I'm going to quit plot-pointing right now -- I feel I'm saying too much. How 'bout some talk concerning 'why' this film is so good.First of all, 'POSUTOMAN' isn't too timid about going deeper into the lives of its main characters. Particularly, the life of the hitman. If this were a Hollywood film, the hitman would have been younger and indestructible, not a "good guy," nothing to care for.Sabu, working as both, director and writer, definitely gave himself a lot to work with, as far as making the romantic aspects romantic; the comical aspects comical; and the exciting aspects -- you know.What made this all work, may be the reality of the characters. The postman is lonely and bored by his job, and has nothing to live for. So one day, he meets a girl who's going through the same dilemma, and they're able to comfort each other and eventually, love life -- and as seen in the last scene, the postman's only reason for going on (living and working) is so he'll meet her at the end of the day, as quickly as possible.And the cops who are making themselves crazy out of the fear that there is a very dangerous man in their town, aren't that silly or cartoonish. These people are afraid, and will do anything their impulses tell them that'll extinguish that fear. [NOTE: This is all done in a very subtle manner, I might add.]So, I think I've said enough.Oh! The editing is one of the best I've seen. You'll notice this in the introduction of the postman character. I think I can guarantee that your jaw will be dropped for the duration.