I must confess that prior to watching this film, I've never seen any of Nakashima's works but I do know that they're stellar hits. Coming from the same director as Confessions, the film shortlisted for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category, I had expectations and it does not disappoint. Kawaki (its more original title based on the novel by Akio Fukamachi, literally translated to Thirst) is graphic, gritty and insanely beautiful in its own twisted way. The crazy amount of jump cuts from one place to another, overwhelms to the point of suffocation and dizziness yet it makes you pay attention, it makes your eyes glued to the increase with the fear that you might miss a beat. It's almost as if you're being assaulted with all these images rushing before your eyes. Maybe for a thriller, it is a little too extreme. There are four timelines, while complicated (and rather annoying) at first, it's not meant to make your head spin because it's actually just rather simple. When you adjust to this style, you'll eventually connect the dots. It's not meant to be a puzzle. Yet it gives off the vibe and makes everything so mysterious when it's really just...simple. That's Asian cinema for you. A simple plot yet an insane mashup of sorts to make it engaging and edgy. The transitions are quick, spontaneous yet they are needed as it contributes to the overall storytelling and ironically, end up making things smooth. The colors are dull, empty and almost dead. Even with scenes with Kanako, where things are suppose to be brighter (or livelier), the colors are...empty as if to reflect her character. Yet it is beautiful to watch because there are empty colors and empty light flares yet the extreme close-ups gives you a light, almost seductive and evil vibe very much like our femme fatale, Kanako. There's also the corny old-style music that plays during intense scenes which in general wouldn't fit but here, it acts as a contrast, to draw out the scene and the characters and their actions. And speaking of characters, while the story is about a search for Kanako, it's really her father, Akikazu Fujishima that we get to know more about. Other than the fact that he's a miserable old man...through his search for his daughter, we also come to understand more about his personality, the destruction of his family and eventually himself. His love and hate for his daughter is just like his white coat soaked with blood. Of course, Koji Yakusho gives a great performance. This father-daughter pairing makes you question if the fruit truly does fall far from the seed and that parents (and children) themselves can destroy each other. This a tandem deemed for oblivion. But newcomers like Nana Komatsu (whom I love so I'm probably biased here) plays the good-girl-image so well and in the end, we don't really know anything about her except from what people think of her. That what makes her disappearance interesting and what thrives this drama. It backs us up in a corner, thinking how much of a monster our characters are based on what we are shown or what we are told. But are they really? Also, Fumi Nikaido and Hiroya Shimizu are amazing as well. I love the metaphor around Alice in Wonderland and how it plays a part on Kanako's character. If you're expecting a closure at the end, don't. You have the "freedom" to choose what to believe in the end. (Ironically, freedom is destruction here) With issues like drugs, prostitution, rape, murder...The World of Kanako is truly a mashup of sorts. What is The World of Kanako in a nutshell? It's in the opening lines. "I love you...I'll kill you." It's really a film about twisted, destructive love. Nakashima plays around with so many elements, the beginning connects with the ending and so forth. It's actually been a roller-coaster watching this.