I have yet to a Japanese film that was satisfying, and this one proved to be no exception.
The film depicts the encounters of a life-long yakuza gangster, Aniki Yamamoto, in Los Angeles after he is forced to leave Japan. Bringing his particular brand of problem solving skills, he quickly carves for himself a nice little criminal niche within the vast L.A. underworld. First, Aniki takes on the Mexican mafia, portrayed as the smallest in the pecking order of criminal organizations. Then, he takes on a Japanese gang, eventually absorbing them through the efforts of his trusted lieutenant. After that, he takes on the Chinese, and makes for himself, and his followers, a comfortable living. Eventually, however, this little troupe of petty criminals take on something too big for them to handle, the Italian mob, and their world comes crumbling down around them. I would like to say that there is more to the plot, but sadly, it is about as deep as it gets: fairly linear, with no surprises.
Although Takeshi Katano has done some good work, the characters in this film are all two dimensional. Add in the wooden acting of most of the actors, it is actually quite painful to watch. In over ninety percent of the film, Katano¡¦s Aniki bears a wooden expression that presumably was meant to portray coolness and calmness, but only succeeded in looking bored. His brother¡¦s character did manage to look like the scared wet-in-the-pants kid that he was supposed to be, though one is hard not to think that the look is achieved by accident instead of thespian skills. Omar Epps has the black character, Denny, down pat, though that is unlikely to be a stretch, playing his own ethnic group. The character portrayed in a most believable manner is that of Aniki¡¦s lieutenant, though he, too, was on the verge of over-acting, a common trait among Japanese actors.
An interesting aspect of watching the interactions between all these badly acted, and even more badly scripted, characters is that one gains a glimpse into the Japanese mind, assuming Katano¡¦s opinions are representative of the Japanese ones. Upon seeing the first lines spoken by an American, the taxi driver, one can immediately feel the depth of the cultural chasm and misunderstanding between the Japanese and Americans. The United States, Katano seems to be saying, is the land of greed and discrimination. All they want from the Japanese is money. And the Japanese will be discriminated against whether the money is forthcoming or not. The film does make a point of this, as Aniki made sure anyone who slurred the Japanese within his hearing range met with the proper punishment. As a study in cultural differences, the film falls well short, resorting to cultural stereotypes which are flat and do nothing to advance his cause.
Overall, the film falls short in any category that one may assign it to: it is unexciting if regarded as a gangster story, and too shallow if regarded as an exploration of cultural or philosophical differences between Japanese and American gangs or lifestyle. The most difficult to swallow, however, is Katano¡¦s attempt to portray the Japanese as the superior and ¡§inscrutable¡¨ race. In short, the film becomes a work to convey Katano¡¦s thinly veiled idea of Japanese cultural and racial supremacy, echoing those advocated by the Japanese during World War Two and have never been cast away.
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