Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana

This is a good movie. It's directed by Kinji Fukasaku who's a top director. There's lashings of style and substance to the film with a pace that never lets up throughout the film. It's like a gritty Pulp Fiction, but with the characters more low-key and more attention paid to the story line. Anyway, a good score, great acting and plenty of fights makes this a must see for anyone keen on the Yakuza or stories like The Limey. The story centers around an undercover cop, who is reassigned to a new precinct and sets out to put the mobsters behind bars. Along the way he gets involved with the people he is trying to put away, finding them to be the victims of fate rather than the villains they appear to be. This part of the story is offset around a larger picture of police corruption with the Yakuza pulling their strings. A cinematic masterpiece by a fascinating director.

How ironic that director Kinji Fukasaku began to get a LOT of attention for his final movie (the amazing 'Battle Royale' - watch it today!) after a career spanning some forty years and sixty movies in many genres! How many other directors are unfairly languishing in obscurity because they aren't Anglo-American or talked up by Quentin Tarantino? 'Yakuza Graveyard' is a fascinating and brutal crime thriller that really impressed me. Along with Oshima's 'In The Realm Of The Senses' and Imamura's 'Vengeance Is Mine' it shows that there was some amazing films being made in mid-70s Japan. Films that are only now getting the attention they deserve! Tetsuya Watari (star of the extraordinary 1960s cult movie 'Tokyo Drifter') plays a cop who forms a friendship with a local criminal and eventually falls for the man's sister. Yes, it's the old "what side am I on?" plot we've seen many times, but it's done very well. Watari later had a small role in Beat Takeshi's 'Brother', and fans of Takeshi's yakuza movies would do well to track 'Yakuza Graveyard' down as it no doubt was a strong influence on Takeshi's movies like 'Violent Cop' and 'Hana-bi'. I really enjoyed watching 'Yakuza Graveyard' and highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates intelligent and uncompromised crime dramas, Japanese or otherwise.

Even with its sombre and bleak tone that puts many of his other works to shame, once the smoke clears, there are more than enough corpses to fill this graveyard. Yakuza Graveyard is one of Kinji Fukasaku's more psychological approaches to his Yakuza films, dripping with nihilism and crammed full of energy, the film has all the hallmarks of Fukasaku's other movies. Here, he chooses to focus on the complicated and damaged psyche of Tetsuya Watari's investigator Kuroiwa with the chemistry he shares with Meiko Kaji's Keiko adding some beautiful tenderness to this gripping tale of violence and interpersonal deception. The camera tilts, dives and chases after the exceptional action, at no point becoming lost in the haze of bloody knuckles and muzzle flashes; combining this with Toshiaki Tsushima's prog rock style score and Yakuza Graveyard remains just as emotional, hard-hitting and badass as Fukasaku's other works, maintaining a standard of quality few could rival.

Very good and not over long, this is a splendid violent Yakusa action film, although not bloody. There is rather much shouting and screaming but the camerawork is wonderful with many tricks, freezes and hand held work. I seem not to have seen much of the director Kinji Fukasaku expect of course of Battle Royale (2000). I loved seeing Meiko Kaji here and with before so much more like Lady Snowblood (1973) and the fantastic, Female Prisoner:701 Scorpion (1972). Cinematic all the way, a little confusing now and again but it is great with that stunning camera always going on and magnificent as thrilling all the time.

Fukasaku's film, also known as "Yakuza Graveyard," is a compelling Japanese crime drama, from the director of "Battle Royale."

The plot centres on a 'cop on the edge,' played by Tetsuya Watari, a character far more disturbed than, say, Dirty Harry or Popeye Doyle from "The French Connection." Indeed, Watari's rebelliousness seems far more shocking in the context of Japanese society, where respect for authority and conformity are supposedly ingrained.

Equally interesting is the portrayal of the Yakuza. It is a crime family in the mould of "The Godfather," but more prosaic and less self-important than the clan created by Francis Ford Coppola. Above all, the film's theme is the lack of honour in Japanese society. The police are corrupt, and in many respects indistinguishable from the Yakuza. The central character develops a close relationship with one of the mobsters, whom he discovers is far more honourable and trustworthy than his police colleagues.

All in all, a fascinating and fast-paced movie.