A Japanese gangster is exiled to Los Angeles where his brother lives with a small but respectable multi-racial gang, who he inspires to expand their influence.
As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West.
The boss of a major crime syndicate orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug traffickers in line, a job that gets passed on to his long-suffering subordinate.
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
Beat Takeshi, a prominent actor, meets a lookalike named Kitano, who is a struggling actor, but after the meeting, Kitano's dreams take a violent, surreal turn.
Dropping out of high school, two friends at first find success, one as a up-and-coming boxer and one as a low level gangster. Yet, their life decisions still find a way of catching up with them.
Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.
A Japanese Yakuza gangster is exiled to the United States. Takeshi settles in Los Angeles where his younger, half brother lives and finds that although the turf is new, the rules are still the same as they try to take over the local drug trade.Written by
Anonymous
This is the 4th Kitano film I've seen recently. It has most of the characteristics of the other films - the sudden, shocking violence, the impassive silences, the same supporting actors, the obligatory seaside scene. But the shift to an American location weakens it, despite the excellent contributions of the US actors, especially Omar Epps.
But the core, unmissable qualities of a Kitano film remain. Takeshi Kitano must be the natural successor to Clint Eastwood as an anti-hero. Most of the stylised violence takes place off-screen, with a flash of humour, then the after-effects vividly on display. The sound-track from Joe Hisaishi matches the screen action perfectly, at times an aggressive supplement to the violence, at other times hauntingly peaceful.
The ending is the film's weakest part, as though Kitano pandered to imagined (or real) American requirements. The out-of-town setting and road movie elements fit uncomfortably with the rest of the film. But if this is the compromise needed to get Kitano to make more films out of Japan, it must be worthwhile.
17 of 24 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
This is the 4th Kitano film I've seen recently. It has most of the characteristics of the other films - the sudden, shocking violence, the impassive silences, the same supporting actors, the obligatory seaside scene. But the shift to an American location weakens it, despite the excellent contributions of the US actors, especially Omar Epps.
But the core, unmissable qualities of a Kitano film remain. Takeshi Kitano must be the natural successor to Clint Eastwood as an anti-hero. Most of the stylised violence takes place off-screen, with a flash of humour, then the after-effects vividly on display. The sound-track from Joe Hisaishi matches the screen action perfectly, at times an aggressive supplement to the violence, at other times hauntingly peaceful.
The ending is the film's weakest part, as though Kitano pandered to imagined (or real) American requirements. The out-of-town setting and road movie elements fit uncomfortably with the rest of the film. But if this is the compromise needed to get Kitano to make more films out of Japan, it must be worthwhile.