Jingi naki tatakai

For those who love yakuza films, this is one NOT to miss. Wild violence to start the film (two arms are lopped off within the first five minutes of the flick) sets a tone of dread (you don't know who'll be killed next). But more than action, the film brings a thoughtfulness to the fore. For those who want an English-language analogy, this film "feels" like Soderbergh's The Limey (though with a different plot and without the bouncing back-and-forth in time [though this movie does jump years in its narrative]).

Don't miss this one...

Although it has certain stylistic similarities with other movies (the extreme violence of the LONE WOLF & CUB films and the gangster shenanigans of THE GODFATHER and its ilk), BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY is very much a unique and almost surreal slice of Japanese yakuza madness.

The story is told in a choppy style and takes place over a number of years. It sees various criminal gangs emerging in post-war Japan, engaging in various rivalries with one another as various gangster bosses strive to outdo their rivals. Into this messy mix are thrown various larger-than-life characters, foremost of whom is Hirono Shozo, played with emotional relish by Bunta Sugawara.

The first half of the film is largely confusing with a large cast of similar characters all battling one another and indeed I wondered what I was watching at some points. However, it all distills down and becomes much more focused in the second half, which follows the members of a single crime family in their bid for leadership. There's little action here, but Kinji Fukasaku (BATTLE ROYALE) directs with stylish aplomb, making this a more than memorable gangster epic.

I was shocked and awed from the first scene by the blisteringly kinetic and colorful cinematography. This movie is beautifully constructed and performed.

Bunta Sugawara is so endlessly fascinating to watch. What a face. Keiji Takamiya was great too.

WHY is this not better known?

Oh, yeah, this is one brilliant, edgy, dark piece of film-making! It moves at the speed of light starting with the American Occupation of the devastated city of Hiroshima after WWII up to the early 1970's.

It has great actors playing complex characters, and cinematography and editing way ahead of its time.

Turn off your phone and don't look away for even a second, or you'll miss something critical. There are many characters and lots of information to absorb.

I've read that the script was based on the life of a real Yakuza, but whether it's fact or fiction, it's a hell of a ride.

And though it's a serious film, sometimes it's also hilarious-- intentionally so.

Warning--not for the squeamish. Unlike the Tarentino films this has been compared to, the violence here is NOT cartoonish or funny. It's brutal, bloody, and serious. (as it should be, in my opinion)

Harrowing post-war b/w photos of Hiroshima are the backcloth for the opening credits and we are soon introduced name by name to family members that will play a part in the early days of the yakuza. Seemingly one unforeseen aspect of the war was a lawless Tokyo but there were those who rushed in to fill the void and would expand further when the Korean war began a few years later. Bold use of widescreen (as many close-ups as distant - partly, I'm sure to cut down on cost of converting wide expanses of the city to a 40s/50s landscape) and wonderful colour and effective soundtrack help hold this somewhat desperate story together. Bright, brash, violent and bloody, this is also fast moving (a little too fast at times, for some of us) with a pause here and there only to discuss the next epode of mayhem.