Minbo no onna (1992)

A grand old Japanese hotel is trying to get a prestigious contract as the site of a summit meeting of important foreign officials. Unfortunately, this hotel is quite popular with the Yakuza... See full summary »

Director:

Jûzô Itami

Writer:

Jûzô Itami

Stars:

Nobuko Miyamoto, Yasuo Daichi, Takehiro Murata

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nobuko Miyamoto	...	Mahiru Inoue
Yasuo Daichi	...	Suzuki the accountant
Takehiro Murata	...	Wakasugi (the bellboy)
Akira Takarada	...	Kobayashi
Hôsei Komatsu	...	Hanaoka
Noboru Mitani	...	Gang boss
Hideji Ôtaki	...	Hotel owner
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Akechi
Akira Nakao	...	Ibagi
Shirô Itô	...	Iriuchijima
Mirei Asaoka	...	Akemi
Kitarô	...	Odokasareru otoko
Teruo Shimizu	...	Big Boss's Henchman
Shô Ryûzanji	...	Yakuza in lobby
Ren Urano	...	Gate Keeper

Storyline

A grand old Japanese hotel is trying to get a prestigious contract as the site of a summit meeting of important foreign officials. Unfortunately, this hotel is quite popular with the Yakuza (Japanese gangsters) and is a favorite target of theirs for extortion. They employ a variety of schemes to con the hotel out of 'hush-money.' The hotel needs to rid itself of the Yakuza and finally begins to fight back by hiring Mahiru Inoue, a lawyer who is an expert at dealing with these criminals on their own terms. This film by Juzo Itami combines action with farce, as an all-out war ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

yakuza

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Minbo

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Itami Films, Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1992, Itami was attacked, beaten, and slashed by five members of the Goto-gumi, a Tokyo yakuza gang, who were angry at his portrayal of yakuza as bullies and thugs in this film. This attack led to a government crackdown on the yakuza. His subsequent stay in a hospital inspired his next film Daibyonin.

User Reviews

Too realistic for his own good

As other reviewers have pointed out, Itami was stabbed by Yakuza after the release of this film. The reason: They felt it too realistic. I suppose they feared that if the public were to find out their "secret" methods of intimidation were just a bunch of hot air, so to speak, it would soften their scare.

And so when you watch this brilliant and dynamic piece of filmmaking, remember that for as outlandish as the characters and situations may come across on screen--as "over-the-top" as it may seem--there was enough realism in the portrayal of the Yakuza mindset to ruffle a lot of feathers.

Think about the fact that there are hundreds of Yakuza movies out there and that this one was the one to stir up outright violence. It's like a Japanese "Colors"; maybe not the most realistic film, but rather a representation that captures a certain animal instinct in some people--like bottled react juice.

Itami continued to provide strong roles for women in this film. And while I agree that this film is not as "wacky" as some of his others, it has just the right combination of farce and graveness to make it a gem.

Great movie, great director. 9/10