Daiyukai (1991)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Kihachi Okamoto

Writer:

Kihachi Okamoto (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 July 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Plot:

A wealthy matriarch is kidnapped by a gang of three. She is insulted by the amount of money they propose to demand as ransom...

Plot Keywords:

Rural

Awards:

7 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Mrs Toshiko 'Toji' Yanagawa
Toru Kazama	...	Lightning
Hiroshi Nishikawa	...	Rain
Katsuyasu Uchida	...	Wind
Ken Ogata	...	Inspector Daigoro Igari
Kirin Kiki	...	Kura 'Ku-chan' Nakamura
Shigeru Kôyama	...	Kunijiro Yanagawa, 1st son
Kumi Mizuno	...	Kanako Yanagawa, 1st daughter
Ittoku Kishibe	...	Daisaku Yanagawa, 2nd son
Nami Tamura	...	Eiko Yanagawa, 2nd daughter
Kouen Okumura	...	Anzai, the Chauffeur
Eisei Amamoto	...	Kushida, the Butler
Reiko Matsunaga	...	Kimi, the Chambermaid
Mami Okamoto	...	Kuniko
Minori Terada	...	Narrator

Also Known As:

Rainbow Kids

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Fuji Eight Company Ltd.

Quotes:

Mrs. Toshiko Yanagawa: [sweetly] By the way... I haven't asked you yet, but what will my ransom be?
[Kazama holds up five fingers]
Mrs. Toshiko Yanagawa: Five? How much is that? How much for each finger?
'Lightning': 10 million yen. Fifty million in all. It's been decided.
Mrs. Toshiko Yanagawa: [her smile disappeares] How much did you say?
'Lightning': Fifty million yen. You've been nice to us but that's one thing, and your ransom is another. It's fifty million. No discount!
Mrs. Toshiko Yanagawa: [sternly] Young man. Who do you think I am? Although I'm old, I am the head of the great Yanagawa family! Don't underestimate me. Make it simple and clear. Ten BILLION yen. If I was worth less than that, I'd die in shame. Understand? Ten billion. No discount.

Daiyukai Daisuki!

A trio of recently released criminals, The Rainbow Kids as they call themselves, devise a plan to kidnap an extremely wealthy matriarch for a paltry sum. When the kidnapee discovers how much the Rainbow Kids intend to ask for her release, she is insulted and demands that they increase the ransom dramatically. This poses a problem for her children, who believe that the ransom is far beyond their means. The matriarch then devises an elaborate plan to hold a television broadcast at a secret location, in order to instruct her children on how to raise the funds needed for the ransom.

The film is slow to start, but once it gets going, it becomes highly compelling. The story is bizarre, and in some parts confusingly complicated, but still engrossing and mildly suspenseful in parts. The jokes are well executed, often visual and usually ridiculous. The characters are all superbly developed; some are cliches but this works extremely well. Most of the performances are very strong, even the minor roles such as the helicopter pilot are made hilarious by sound comic acting. The film is comparatively well directed for a modern film, which is not surprising given that the director is a living fossil (born in 1923).

My only real criticism is that the film goes on twenty minutes too long. It has plenty of perfect opportunities to end, but instead it drags on by attempting to explain why the matriarch demanded the Rainbow Kids charge a higher ransom. The explanation was so complicated that I found it difficult to understand, and it seemed unnecessary anyway since the story remains ridiculous even with the explanation added on.

Nevertheless, this is a minor criticism of what is a wonderfully funny and entertaining comedy, which mercifully does not contain any sex, language or violence.