Minbo (Japan, 1992)

A grand old Japanese hotel is trying to get a prestigious contract as the site of a summit meeting of important foreign officials. Unfortunately, this hotel is quite popular with the Yakuza, and is a favorite target of theirs for extortion. They employ a variety of schemes to con the hotel out of 'hush-money.' The hotel needs to rid itself of the Yakuza and finally begins to fight back by hiring Inoue, a lawyer who is an expert at dealing with these criminals on their own terms. 

Filmmaker Juzo Itami is known for only directing comic satires. If you haven't seen his 1985 movie Tampopo, then by God do it now. In Minbo, he targets the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) and portrays them hilariously as a bunch of bullies. It's an extremely funny film, but it wasn't exactly well-received by the real life Yakuza, because a couple of days after the films release, Juzo Itami was attacked and had his face slashed by a known gang who didn't appreciate the way he portrayed them in the film. 

Genre: Comedy