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STUDIO: Animeigo
MSRP: 24.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 146 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Program Notes
• Cast & Crew Bios
• Image Gallery
• Four Onimasa Trailers
• The Geisha Trailer
• The Wolves Trailer
• DVD Credits
The Pitch
A day in the life of a Yakuza boss.
The Humans
Tatsuya Nakadai, Masako Natsume, Shima Iwashita
The Nutshell
This is a Smörgåsbord of all the major tropes of Japanese culture; a man even cuts off his own finger to regain honor. While Onimasa (Tatsuya Nakadai) is the title character, the story primarily takes place through the eyes of his adopted daughter (given to Onimasa as payment). We see the excesses of Onimasa’s power and the tragic consequences of its abuse.
[Insert borderline offensive joke about Black women throwing shoes]
The Lowdown
Chronologically, the story begins with the parents of Matsue (Masako Natsume) offering up her little brother as a means of currying favor with the local Yakuza, Onimasa (Tatsuya Nakadai). It is explained that since the family is new to the region, their business has no chance of survival without a patron to settle any potential disputes. Extreme deference to those with a higher social standing is a common thread throughout the film. Even Onimasa, who for the first quarter of the film is portrayed as fearless and answering to no one, has a patron of his own, Sir Suda (Tetsuro Tanba). When in the presence of this noble, his posture becomes that of obedience and subservience. Onimasa is devastated by the news that Suda has disowned him due to his sympathizing with workers that he was ordered to stop from striking.
He leaves their last meeting politely, but as soon as he exits the residence of Suda, he violently lashes out against the guards outside. Somehow Onimasa is able to reconcile a code of honor with his acts of brutality. One of Matsue’s first experiences as a member of his household is to attend a dog fight. A rival vassal of Suda’s, Suenaga, dog is severely beaten in a fight when he was favored to win. The winning dog is accused of foul play and a fight nearly breaks out, but Onimasa uses his authority to declare the match valid. Suenaga accepts this outcome, but later has the rival dog murdered. He agrees to exacting revenge, namely killing Suenaga, for the loyalty of the dog’s owner. Suenaga has already gone into hiding and so he takes a woman from Suenaga’s estate to add to his stable of mistresses. Onimasa has no issue with taking a woman as a sex slave or killing for the sake of honor. It is as if Onimasa pays for his misdeeds by performing fouler acts in the name of honor.
This phenomenon only escalates as the film progresses. A man Onimasa respects, Genichiro Tanabe (Eitaro Ozawa), is released from prison and Onimasa promises to grant him one wish. The man reveals that this wish is to marry his adopted daughter, Matsue. Onimasa immediately accuses this man of dishonoring him by secretly sleeping with his daughter, which has not happened. Rather than allow Onimasa to humiliate Matsue by having her strip so that he can examine her, the man agrees to cut off his finger to pay for the debt of honor. The guise of honor once again allows Onimasa to violently lash out at this man that he secretly wished would marry his biological daughter. However, this is not the end of this episode, later that night, Onimasa attempts to rape Matsue and only relents when Matsue tries to kill herself with a shard of glass.
While the cruel acts of Onimasa do eventually catch up with him, it is difficult to ignore how celebrated and prosperous he is for the majority of his ‘reign.’ It feels like an injustice that Matsue loves her kidnapper as a father and forgives his attempted rape, as she is only member of the household that has not allowed herself to become tainted by the environment created by Onimasa’s behavior. That I can react in this way is a testament to excellent performance of Masako Natsume and her ability to be truly sympathetic. It is clear that there is a desire to paint this story as Japan’s answer to the Godfather, but this would have been a much stronger film if Matsue were the primary focus and meandering side plots were cut. These served to show Onimasa filling his role as Yakuza, but were largely dull and unnecessary.
Translation: This mark ass trick just stepped on my sneaker.
The Package
The extras consist of a couple slide shows (which did not work on my computer) and a handful of trailers. It is clear that the publishers were more interested in the quantity of things they could call special features, without actual the expense of providing features with substance.