Yakuza

Sydney Pollack's respected film Yakuza goes somehow into the same category as Black Rain. These days it is interesting to realize that Hollywood has been interested about Japan in the 70's too - movies like Last Samurai have been made before. But this movie is special, this is US/Japan collaboration.

Movie tells story of character named Harry Kilmer who returns to Japan after long time in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter. He ends up struggling against yakuza. Kilmer is feeling bitter about his past, and longs back for his past with woman called Eiko. But there are surprises to come - from all directions. Mysterious and quiet ex-yakuza man called Ken, helps Kilmer to rescue George's daughter, but nothing is what it seems, and eventually Kilmer learns what true obligation and brotherhood means in Japan.

Dave Grusin's melancholic jazz pieces always fitted well to the Sydney Pollack's movies, and so it does with this. The beginning of movie was poor, and I thought I give up soon, but instead I kept watching. Once Kilmer gets to Japan and meets Eiko in her beautiful kimono, everything changes, the movie finds it's pace and viewer is kept on edge of his chair. Surprises come too.

Keiko Kishi is ever so beautiful as Eiko. Bitter, wounded Kilmer is well made character and is fun to watch. Ken's character isn't explained well, he is a kind of gloomy ex ganster guy running a kendo dojo. Other characters are interesting too like the Japanese culture nerd which's place Kilmer stays. Overall performance of the actors is good, except the Japan otaku guys and the compulsory "katana-actually-is-sharp" scene. (They must always have that scene in foreign movie which tells about Japan! When do you guys learn!)

Also it seems little a bit funny how they think that japanese yakuza fought with only swords. Some of the characters stated "he has picked up his sword again" meaning that the person joined back to yakuza. I'm not sure of yakuza's methods though, but it must be that yakuza had firearms already that time.

Gladly Japanese people also speak occasionally Japanese in this movie and Kilmer can pronounce his Japanese rather well. Unlike other American movies, also Japanese don't have the weird accent.

It is interesting that the movie somehow seems to state "the time of US occupation in Japan wasn't so good for Japan maybe". Truth, as we know is, that because of the US occupation and the multiple problems caused by it, many people were struck into a shady career of mob. I got the sense that the movie tried to suggest this, very carefully and between the lines.

In this movie America doesn't come and "save Japan". Instead, the foreign audience is perhaps left with feeling "Wow, Japanese really are bunch of loyal people!", which by the way, is true, especially inside yakuza circles.

This one is better than action flick Black Rain. Sadly this movie isn't available on DVD at the moment.

Detail: Martin Scorsese was supposed to direct this movie but it was given to Sydney due to producer's wish. It would have been interesting to see how Scorsese would have done this. I recommend this movie for those who want to see how Hollywood saw Japan in 70's and who are interested about American-Japanese movies.

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