Yakuza

Harry Kilmer is a retired detective whiling away his days at the beach in Malibu. An old friend named George Tanner contacts him with a problem: his daughter has been kidnapped by the Yakuza, with whom Tanner was conducting business. Harry is dispatched to Tokyo to get her back, and while there rekindles his relationship with Eiko, a woman he once loved. For help with his mission, Harry calls upon Eiko's estranged brother Ken, who has an obligation to him- or giri- for coming to Eiko's aid years before. As they battle the Yakuza, Harry comes to realize that Ken and Eiko's relationship is more complicated than he realized, and that he has his own giri he may never be able to repay.

Directed by Sydney Pollack, 'The Yakuza' is a stylish crime drama that entertains, though suffers from tonal and pacing issues galore. Originally written by Paul Schrader, it was intended as a vehicle for Lee Marvin under the direction of Robert Aldrich; though that film was never made. Instead, Pollock was hired to direct and Schrader's original script was considerably altered by Robert Towne. The end result is a film of contrasting styles, attempting- largely in vain- to balance Schrader's hard-edged original material with the romanticism of Pollock and Towne's approach.

Perhaps with Schrader's script in hand, a director like Aldrich- well versed in the art of making action pictures- could have captured the violent sequences in 'The Yakuza' with style and verve. With Towne's, Pollock doesn't, seeming more comfortable with dialogue heavy scenes and wistful set-pieces. More often than not, these feel ponderous and overly-expositional, with too much talking and not enough movement. In contrast, the way Pollock captures the violence seems rushed and cursory.

While we do empathize with the central three characters- Harry, Eiko and Ken- the rest are ill-defined, blurry caricatures one can't help but forget. The film does contain powerful moments, and arrives at a sensational conclusion, but the journey there is one fraught with issues. It is a shame the narrative and Pollock's approach to it is so muddled and uncertain, as there are brilliant sequences in 'The Yakuza'- and it's a triumph in many other respects.

Kôzô Okazaki's cinematography, for one, is exceptional. He shoots the thoroughfares of Tokyo strikingly, in a manner which heightens the city's neon-streaked coldness. Watching Harry somberly stalk the city's side-streets or graveyards is arresting, while the intricate lighting in interior shots captures one's attention and keeps it held. Dave Grusin's jazzy score is also worth mentioning, as it lends to proceedings an ambience of film-noir that feels most appropriate and atmospheric.

'The Yakuza' also boasts impressive performances from the cast that one would be remiss not to mention. Robert Mitchum stars as Harry, delivering one of the finest performances from the latter half of his career. Arguably one of the most naturalistic actors of all time, he never resorted to theatrics or seemed anything less than fully authentic. His performance here as Harry is thoughtful, powerfully understated and proof that less really does mean more when it comes to acting. How the Academy never recognized his greatness is frankly scandalous; as whether in 'The Yakuza' or anything else, Mitchum was always perfect.

His co-star Ken Takakura subscribes to the same playbook as he does, delivering a restrained, masterful performance of great subtlety and style. Starring as Ken, Takakura has a magnetic screen presence and an enigmatic gravitas; ensuring you'll be staring his way anytime he's on screen. Richard Jordan also does strong work as an associate of Harry's named Dusty, and Keiko Kishi is utterly beguiling as Eiko; sharing with Mitchum a very warm, seemingly authentic chemistry.

Sydney Pollock's 'The Yakuza' is an entertaining film, though it may have been better in the hands of a different director. While it has tonal issues and the dialogue is a little stilted in places, the cinematography from Kôzô Okazaki is captivating, and Dave Grusin's score is atmospheric. The performances are routinely brilliant too, with Mitchum and Ken Takakura doing especially fine work. Taking all that into account, while the saga of blood, love and honor that is 'The Yakuza' is well worth seeing; it is not a masterpiece.

The strongest point of this film is the writing. It's the first Paul Schrader script ever to be filmed, written with his brother Leonard (who also worked with Paul on Blue Collar & Mishima) and Robert Towne (Chinatown, Marathon Man, Bonnie & Clyde). It seems we have the best of both Schrader's here; Leonard really understands the Japanese culture and Paul is a very cerebral and thematic writer who almost always raises a number of interesting issues.

The film, which is very respectful of it's foreign culture and tries to be as true as possible to it, first and foremost shows the differences between American and Japanese culture. However, there are so many themes in this movie though that it becomes tiresome to list them. The key ones include honor, loyalty, burden, duty, friendship, love, loss, obligation, and the differences between the men of pre and post war Japan.

Although Robert Mitchum was approaching 60 when made the film, he still possessed enough of his trademark grace to be credible enough against much younger men in the action scenes. He always exudes so much casualness and weariness, but his work here shows he was obviously fired up by the material.

The other standout actor is Ken Takakura. He plays an honorable man that everyone respects, but his honor and old ways also often make him intolerable to anyone around him. He hides the deep wounds of his character behind his stone face, but that doesn't in any way prevent him from conveys that he's a miserable man from another age who lives by his code but not for anything. As he's the native that used to be in the Yakuza and Mitchum is the gaijin that doesn't have to follow their honor system (although as the movie progresses, he subscribes to their codes and honor system more and more), Takakura gets to do all the skilled swordplay. His fighting won't thrill those who want a lot of stunts, but is great if you enjoy the psychology and strategy of the craft.

The film is it has a drab, low budget kind of look, mainly as a way to maintain the mood and tone of the piece. Some of the scenes really bring the material to life, particularly through some excellent camera work, but sometimes the look is indifferent and the soundtrack seems to be trying too hard. Aside from staying true to the material and getting strong performances, I wouldn't say that Sydney Pollack has done a great job here. This is not the kind of movie you watch if you are looking for John Woo action though, and for the most part the flaws are overshadowed by the strength of the script and performances. 8/10

A neglected classic of 70s film-making, this is perhaps the most "Japanese" movie ever made by a non-Japanese. The story is rich and multi-layered, featuring not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers in a brilliant and melancholy examination of contrasting themes of memory, secrets and betrayal, friendship, honor and obligation. The script is both literate and intricate; the characters' motives are almost always obscure until another layer of deception is stripped away.

Only Robert Mitchum could have done justice to the role of Harry Kilmer, a retired detective returning to Japan for the first time in many years to rescue his old Army friend Tanner's daughter, who has been kidnapped by the Yakuza in a dispute over a debt Tanner owes them. When Kilmer arrives in Japan, he seeks out Ken, the brother of his ex-lover Eiko (played by the astoundingly lovely and talented Kishi Keiko). Ken is a lone wolf, an ex-Yakuza who now runs a martial arts school, and though there is obviously no love lost between the two, Kilmer knows Ken carries an obligation to him for rescuing Eiko and her infant daughter in the early days of the Occupation.

Kilmer is still bitter about the past, deeply wounded by his love for Eiko, who would not marry him even though she loves him deeply. This was the reason why he left Japan and never meant to return.

Now, with Ken's reluctant help, he rescues Tanner's daughter, but this only leads to an intensifying spiral of tragic consequences, because nothing is quite what it seems. Only when Kilmer begins to understand the truth of the situation is he able to act constructively.

Everyone in this film, from Brian Keith to Herb Edelman to Richard Jordan (in one of his first starring roles) turns in a first-rate performance. James Shigeta and Christina Kobuko also deserve honorable mention. But it is Mitchum and Takakura Ken who make this movie.

This is not an action film in the sense of later -- and far inferior -- efforts like "The Challenge" and "Black Rain", though there are scenes of intense and graphic violence. Nor does it have a happy ending, although some of the characters do ultimately find redemption and a hope of reconciliation.

"The Yakuza" is a work that deserves a much larger audience, one which will totally engage a thoughtful viewer with its universal themes worked out against the background of a very different culture, with its own mindset and traditions. I give it my highest recommendation.

Superb East-meets-West movie, I suspect largely due to Schrader's insight. Takakura Ken's performance really steals the show, though all actors are more than capable; Mitchum gives a great performance again. Not a martial arts movie, but contains a katana showdown that I can watch over and over again without finding fault [more believable than anything you'll see in 'Kill Bill'].

The story is gorgeously convoluted, keeping it's secrets to the very end, in a fitting Japanese manner. Action scenes are relatively restrained, and the story tells how Mitchum's character finally comes to understand Takakura Ken's character, and his apparently icy antagonism. When can we see a DVD copy?!

One of the best West-meets-East films made. Great dialogues, very realistic fighting scenes, even though this film has been made so long ago, without any CGI tricks at all, yet the sword fights still look really great. But in my opinion the story, which may be shortly described with one of the sentences spoken by Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) at the end of this film: "I have destroyed his past, and his future" - perhaps the story is what it makes this film so unique and timeless. Outstanding performance by Ken Takakura ("Ken Tanaka")! If you haven't seen it yet - get it now! And why do I say "get it" instead of "rent it"? Because unfortunately VHS version available in US is more than 10 minutes shorter, and European VHS versions have even more *vital to the plot* cuts! (More info here: http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0073918/alternateversions

or if it doesn't work try the link under "Alternate versions"). Please: don't waste your time on those! I swear these edited versions must have been edited either by some blind and deaf personae, or a child who didn't understood plot at all! Currently the only good, somewhat true to the original theatrical print (just slightly more than 3 minutes shorter), are the 2hr long versions available on the not-so-legal (and not too good quality-wise) VCDs released in Hong Kong and Asia.

I rated this film very high - and I am not any big sword-actioneers fan, but nor is this movie any kind of sword fighting flicks. Its just a great story that is told (or actually shown) very well, and it deserves full 10/10.