Those Swell Yakuza
Last
year, I watched Chi-n-pi-ra, an 1980's yakuza
movie that portrayed the organized crime of bubble-era Japan in
beautiful detail. Over the last year I began searching out for
more films with the same mix of action, comedy, and wonderful
80's production. Of the movies I found, my favorite was Yakuza
tosei no sutekina menmen, or Those Swell Yakuza,
released in 1988.
We
follow Ryo, a former banker and record store owner, as he begins
to train under a senior yakuza boss and becomes indoctrinated
into the family. As he rises the ranks and brings yakuza of his
own under his wing, he falls in love with a beautiful civilian
girl. We see his relationships with both his lover and his rival
yakuza come to a climax, where his own marriage is sided to
fight for his yakuza family.
Ryo
is a fantastic protagonist, just oozing with charm and energy.
There are multiple scenes of him overeacting to simple yakuza
tasks, such as reopening a stab wound to feign an attack, or
climbing up on a desk and screaming the name of a debtor at his
place of employment. He often wears gold-rimmed sunglasses to
hide his eyes, only showing his sly smile. As he gains more
esteem, he fills the role of the yakuza boss himself, with a
harsh confidence and an attiude fitting of his position.
One
of the coolest aspects of the movie is the portrayl of a new
generation of yakuza leaving the old one behind. We see the boss
Ryo trained under succumb to old age and alcoholism, and Ryo
soon passing him in the family. It's an important aspect of a
criminal organization that is shown very well here. As it is
seen in other classic crime films such as The Godfather,
the passing of the torch is inevitable, and sometimes it's not
always pretty.
And,
in what might be my favorite aspect of the film, the score and
atmosphere are fantastic. The score, done by legendary anime
composter Joe Hisaishi, has a great 1980's punch, with an
excellent recurring motif that really heightens the drama every
time there is a yakuza encounter. It's probably some of my
favorite synthesizer scoring in a movie from this era. Alongside
some excellent casting and costume design, I will forever love
the stylish location shots of 1980's Japan.
I
pretty much can't reccommend this film enough, it's a hidden
classic. It's a simple plot being driven by a great lead, with
excellent music and atmosphere. With almost no english language
traction and no official english release, I hope it eventually
makes its way across the sea. In any regard, I hope everyone can
find it!
