"When you're scared all the time, you reach a point when you wish you were dead."
It's funny, despite what he says when he opens up about his vulnerability (my favorite moment in the film), this yakuza tough guy (Takeshi Kitano) never really seems scared. He's stone cold in the face of death and stone cold in killing others, but fear never registers. It's clear he's reached a point where he doesn't care if he lives or dies though, the years of senseless violence and killing over turf having worn him to the point of near madness. Maybe he was always a little crazy - it's pretty disconcerting to hear him describe killing his father as a teenager because he wouldn't let him f*, recounting the incident with a smile. He's also disturbing when he joyfully combines paper/rock/scissors with a little Russian roulette.
For a big portion of the film, the character is holed up on a beautiful deserted beach with some of his lieutenants, finding a kawaii female companion (Aya Kokumai) in the process. The result is a very quiet, offbeat kind of yakuza film. We see them play simple games, smiling and enjoying themselves, knowing of course that eventually there will be a reckoning. Between just how slow it gets in the middle and how unclear some of the plot details are, I have to say, the storytelling wasn't a complete success for me, but I appreciated how deliberate it was in subverting the genre. The cinematography is wonderful too.
Is it possible for him to retire to a life on such a beach as if all the years of violence never happened? Is it possible when he learns that he's been betrayed by his boss, that in fact this system he's lived his life upholding, loyally respecting the hierarchy, has been a lie? We wish we could outrun our past, that we could forget our trauma, that time in the sun would make it disappear, but of course that's not how it is. It's depressing and yet realistic, and while it's hard to empathize with a remorseless killer, somehow Kitano pulls it off.
It's funny, despite what he says when he opens up about his vulnerability (my favorite moment in the film), this yakuza tough guy (Takeshi Kitano) never really seems scared. He's stone cold in the face of death and stone cold in killing others, but fear never registers. It's clear he's reached a point where he doesn't care if he lives or dies though, the years of senseless violence and killing over turf having worn him to the point of near madness. Maybe he was always a little crazy - it's pretty disconcerting to hear him describe killing his father as a teenager because he wouldn't let him f*, recounting the incident with a smile. He's also disturbing when he joyfully combines paper/rock/scissors with a little Russian roulette.
For a big portion of the film, the character is holed up on a beautiful deserted beach with some of his lieutenants, finding a kawaii female companion (Aya Kokumai) in the process. The result is a very quiet, offbeat kind of yakuza film. We see them play simple games, smiling and enjoying themselves, knowing of course that eventually there will be a reckoning. Between just how slow it gets in the middle and how unclear some of the plot details are, I have to say, the storytelling wasn't a complete success for me, but I appreciated how deliberate it was in subverting the genre. The cinematography is wonderful too.
Is it possible for him to retire to a life on such a beach as if all the years of violence never happened? Is it possible when he learns that he's been betrayed by his boss, that in fact this system he's lived his life upholding, loyally respecting the hierarchy, has been a lie? We wish we could outrun our past, that we could forget our trauma, that time in the sun would make it disappear, but of course that's not how it is. It's depressing and yet realistic, and while it's hard to empathize with a remorseless killer, somehow Kitano pulls it off.