Minbo

Original title: Minbô no onna

19921992
1818
2h 3m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

922

YOUR RATING

Comedy

A luxury hotel extorted by yakusa assigns an ordinary accountant to handle the situation. The chaotic results cause the hotel to rethink its plan.A luxury hotel extorted by yakusa assigns an ordinary accountant to handle the situation. The chaotic results cause the hotel to rethink its plan.A luxury hotel extorted by yakusa assigns an ordinary accountant to handle the situation. The chaotic results cause the hotel to rethink its plan.

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

922

YOUR RATING

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

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Awards
- 5 wins & 7 nominations

Photos12

Storyline

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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. —Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

thug

japanese woman

hotel

hotelier

lawyer

12 more

Did you know

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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 reviews16

Review

Top review

9/10

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

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