Kamikaze takushî

Works Well on Many Levels

At first what attracted me to this film was its cool title - Kamikaze Taxi. While I expected an action-packed Yakuza movie, what I got was much, much more.

Corrupt politicians, dispossessed ethnic citizens, young Yakuza wannabees, action, killings, street life in modern Japan, reconciliation with Japan's involvement in WWII. There are many elements thrown together in this movie, and it does a good job dealing with them in a coherent story that will keep your interest for the length of the movie.

On the surface it is a story of a young Yakuza, Tatsuo, exacting revenge against a corrupt politician for beating up his girlfriend/prostitute who is later killed by a Yakuza shylock. Tatsuo and his other neophyte Yakuza buddies blunder into stealing a great deal of money from a crime boss. With the assistance of an ethnic Japanese taxi cab driver born in Peru, Tatsuo flees and attempts to avenge the killing of his girlfriend.

Social issues relevant to Japan at the time Kamikaze Taxi abound. In the early 1990s, Japan was rocked with corruption in high office, both in the mainland and abroad. In Peru an ethnic Japanese politician, Alberto Fugimori, was President, and he was plagued throughout his term and ultimately ousted by charges of corruption. These two events are alluded to in the movie.

The politician in this movie, Domon, is a survivor from WWII, a former Kamikaze fighter. Not only is he prejudiced, but he is also morally depraved, sadistic, and virulently chauvinistic. That prejudice is aimed as well to the taxi cab driver, who while ethnically Japanese, is looked upon as a second-class citizen. While practically unknown outside of the country, the issue of migrant Japanese citizens is a burning issue in Japan.

If there is a downside to the movie it is the numerous subplots and other twists and turns. There are many and they are diverse. To some, the sheer number of elements may drag the momentum of the action. Director Masato Harada (who played the character of Omura, the pro-West advisor to the Emperor of Japan in The Last Samurai) ties all these elements very well, however, which gel together quite nicely through most of the movie.

The movie jumps the shark a bit when Tatsuo and the taxi cab driver stumble into an encounter group session in a foothill retreat.

This is a minor defect. Harado finds a way to tie in this encounter group into the story line. Besides, this is not your average Yakuza film with disposable, one-dimensional characters. The actors play complex characters with depth in a well-written, thoughtful, sometimes contemplative, script.

This movie has the force of a Miike Yakuza movie, and displays flashes of craft and subtle humor enough to justify repeated viewings. Even at over two and a half hours you will not be dissatisfied.

I won't say it's a bad film, I am usually never deceived by a Japanese crime flick, but if you consider this very topic, a couple of men fighting against the mob, yakuza mob, I highly prefered Ishi Takashi's GONIN, made the same year. the film making and overall treatment were so different. yes, different, and less boring. Nearly three hours is far too long for my taste. And maybe am I not enough a specialist of the Japanese spirit to totally get this feature soul. I usually like Rising Sun country movies because they are bleak, dark, brutal, with rarely happy endings; that's all. That doesn't mean I am immerged into the Japanese soul. Most of Samourai films are too hermetic, whilst being very poignant and gripping to me.

Kamikaze Taxi is a quirky, innovative social satire that is well worth watching only if you are open to seeing a different style of film. This is certainly not the usual Hollywood action film but more for the art-house cinema-buff crowd who enjoy cult films.

The aspect of Japanese living in Peru and Brazil is in itself intriguing. There are the cultural differences and insights into racial problems which offer an interesting mix. Viewers who peer beyond the violence and sex in this film will find much to rouse their intellect.

This film is unique in how it weaves various fabrics of life that are normally separate and often contradictory. For example, we hear magical Peruvian pan pipes played by a Japanese man standing, not high in the Andes, but in a lush green Brazilian forest. The spiritual yearning of this musician contrasts sharply with the ugly violence and betrayal of those near to him in the beautiful forest.

The film is in Japanese, and obviously delivers its message to Japanese society. Keep this in mind when considering the tragedy, humour, corruption, naivety, idealism, contradictions and poetic style that this film portrays so well. What does this say about the Japanese character? Is it true also for those of us who are not Japanese? Gather your friends and discuss such questions over cups of capuccino or glasses of brandy. There is more to this film than first meets the eye.

Of course, he is not quite there yet, but there is definitely potential. As a matter of fact, the director admits Wu's influence when I had the chance to meet with him.

I like this one more than his later movie, Bounce (Call Girls).

Definitely a director to watch out for!

In my humble opinion the movie was quite nice but too long. Some kind of abridging should have been done.