Jingi no hakaba (1975)

Jingi no hakaba: Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. With Tetsuya Watari, Tatsuo Umemiya, Yumi Takigawa, Eiji Gô. A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the Japanese mafia but quickly loses his self control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.

“The bittersweet irony of Fukasaku was that he was a talented man that only became known to us through his last film. So itu0026#39;s enthralling to discover small gems like this when in the West we were praising Scorsese for his grittiness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt helps to know a bit about this type, the yakuza film. Fukasakuu0026#39;s The Yakuza Papers series offer all the introduction youu0026#39;re going to need. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you are acquainted this will come as a pleasant surprise. The plot is nowhere near as convoluted, the barrage of constant name-dropping that made the former occasionally hard to follow is absent. Instead we get the distilled energy, with hand-held cameras peering from the most improbable angles, filming the numerous fights not from a distance but in the middle of the swirl. We get stills, narration, clever use of sepia, fast forwards and so on, years before Tarantino made it cool. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYet what sets Graveyard of Honour apart from other yakuza movies is the protagonist. Heu0026#39;s not the typical rags to riches and back figure seen in gangster movies. He doesnu0026#39;t hit the good time before falling down, heu0026#39;s not Tony Montana. No, itu0026#39;s all down-hill for him; a self-destructive yakuza without a care in the world who brings about his own misery and challenges his bad karma at every corner. His nihilistic stare reminded me of Ryonosuke Tsukue from Sword of Doom.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStrongly recommended for crime drama fans.”