Two
Yakuza families - once able to co-exist as a result of a pact made by
their bosses while they were in prison - now find themselves bitter
enemies over drug trafficking. The Ikemoto family and the Murase family
have gone to war, causing unwelcome attention to the underworld syndicate.
Big boss Sekuichi wants the fighting to end, so he tells Ikemoto to
put the Murase family in line. Ikemoto gives the job to Otomo who decides
it's in his best interests to fan the flame and intensify the war.
Collected
acts of extreme violence take this film into territory far removed from
Kitano's recent projects (e.g., his gangster comedy RYUZO
AND HIS SEVEN HENCHMEN). For this one, he plays the underboss
Otomo, an ambitious mobster willing to do anything to make his mark.
But the film is more interested in portraying the Yakuza world rather
than focusing on individuals. In that sense it is remarkably more similar
to the epic Johnnie To movie ELECTION
rather than previous Kitano productions.
A Japanese
film with English subtitles; widescreen format, uncut (109 minutes),
DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT; extras include original
trailer.
