Yakuza and the Family (Japan, 2020)

When Kenji Yamamoto's father died from using a stimulant drug his life fell into desperation. Kenji then joined a crime syndicate. There, he meets the gang's boss Hiroshi Shibasaki. Hiroshi reaches out to Kenji and they developed a relationship like father and son. As time passes, Kenji has his own family.

Japanese yakuza flicks are not the rarest find, so when a film is centered around the Japanese mob syndicate I can't help but compare it to a dozen of earlier greats in the genre. I'm very glad to say that Yakuza and the Family (a.k.a. The Family) gave me flashbacks to Kitano's Kids Return (1996), in how a young man gets drawn into the world of yakuza and how the passage of time affects them all. It doesn't ooze of original characters but it's well-shot, has some really bone-crunching fights and you get the sense that the director wanted to make a stand-out Yakuza film with a lot of heart.

Genre: Crime/Drama. 2h 16min

Melancholic (Japan, 2018)

Kazuhiko, a graduate of a prestigious university, wasn't enjoying his life, until he takes a job at a bathhouse. Then he discovers that the baths are used as a space for killing people after closing hours.

Melancholic tells the compelling story of how a somewhat socially awkward man, Kazuhiko, gets involuntarily thrown into the belly of the Yakuza killing business. It's a working blend of dark comedy and tense atmosphere, with some small amounts of well-directed action in-between. All while also following the believable, bittersweet love story between Kazuhiko and Yuri, a young woman who frequents the bathhouse.

The film stands out due to the original approach it has to the Yakuza genre by not dealing with warring families, but of how to take care of the mess after the killing is done, and the director makes some good decisions by focusing more on the moral struggles of the characters rather than just tryin to make a shallow, bloody spinoff Yakuza flick. 

Genre: Crime/Drama

Graveyard of Honor (Japan, 1975)

A look at the life of renegade yakuza, Rikio Ishikawa, particularly the years from 1946 to 1950 when his violent antics get him in trouble with his own clan, Kawada, and then with the clan of his protector, Kozaburo Imai. In these years, he can rely on Chieko, a young Tokyo courtesan who gives him shelter. He's banished to Osaka, where he picks up a drug habit. Through it all, he keeps his friends and enemies off balance with unpredictable behavior - and he seems indestructible.

Kinji Fukasaku's (Battle Royale) Graveyard of Honor is one of the must-see masterpieces of the yakuza cinema, and an ultra-violent journey through Osaka's underworld of misery and power struggles. Fukasaku makes it feel almost like a documentary in how the film is like a chronicle of one disturbed man's life, and how he's sort of like an anti-hero. I love how wild the film-style is, with different filters popping in and out and how in every fight it's like the camera man is scared senseless and stumbles around while trying to shoot the film. 

The film had a remake in 2002 by Takashi Miike and while both films are fantastic, the 1975 version has a realness to it which in my opinion is far more effective than having more violence. 

Genre: Action/Crime

Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen (Japan, 2015)

Ryuzo is a retired yakuza gangster who lives a quiet unassuming life with his son. One day, the old gangster receives a call from an impostor pretending to be his son asking for ¥5 million. Ryuzo sees through the trick and learns from police detective Murakami (Beat Takeshi) that a member from the Keihin Rengo gang is responsible. Re-uniting his seven former henchmen to strike back, Ryuzo learns that they have all grown weak with their old age.

Director/actor Takeshi Kitano is once again back with a Yakuza film, and oh how I missed it. Ryuzo let's him have a lot more fun with the genre than his previous Outrage-series which were very straightforward and by-the-book. This one is a far more enjoyable Yakuza romp that's actually both funny and dark while also being lovely violent. The main characters all have the usual traits; one is way too old for action, one is wise and more laid-back, another is a revolver maniac, but it really doesn't feel as been-there-done-that as it should. Instead it's charming as hell to see a bunch of old men trying to relive their long past Yakuza years for a good cause. 

Genre: Action/Comedy

Like a Dragon (Japan, 2007)

Former Yakuza underling Kiryu Kazuma, who has recently been released from prison after a lengthy incarceration, and is trying to piece his life together and distance himself from his Yakuza past. Along the way he encounters Haruka, a distressed young girl who is trying to find her lost mother (a former club hostess). Unfortunately Kiryu's problems slowly escalate as he is pursued by a former associate, the baseball bat-wielding psycho Majima Goro who has a grudge to settle with Kiryu.

Director Takashi Miike often makes movie adaptations of other work, for example manga or games. Like a Dragon is based on the video game-series Yakuza, and the film has just as much of slapstick action and Yakuza thug-wars as its counterpart. Fans of Miike will recognize his style of over-the-top fighting and quirky, Japanese humor. Nothing too serious, but a fun and intense Yakuza flick.

Genre: Action/Crime