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#82 - The Yakuza
Sydney Pollack, 1974
A retired American ex-soldier returns to Japan after 25 years in order to help out a friend who is being harassed by the Yakuza crime syndicate.
A solid if not especially amazing thriller. This could have easily turned into some unfortunate white-saviour nonsense but fortunately Robert Mitchum's weary protagonist isn't that much of a hero - Ken Takakura's retired Yakuza member is probably the closest the film has to one. Though the first half of the film plods along in trying to set up its primary conflict and develop Mitchum's character and his relationships with the rest of the cast, the second half picks up thanks to its developing twists and well-executed action sequences. Screenwriters Paul Schrader and Robert Towne have written some classic films before and since, and while that same storytelling magic doesn't quite translate here, the effort that's been put into accurately depicting Yakuza culture and codes of honour is put to good narrative effect, especially in the film's rather shocking denouement. It hasn't aged all that well and the first half does drag a bit, but it's a decent enough film nonetheless.
Sydney Pollack, 1974
A retired American ex-soldier returns to Japan after 25 years in order to help out a friend who is being harassed by the Yakuza crime syndicate.
A solid if not especially amazing thriller. This could have easily turned into some unfortunate white-saviour nonsense but fortunately Robert Mitchum's weary protagonist isn't that much of a hero - Ken Takakura's retired Yakuza member is probably the closest the film has to one. Though the first half of the film plods along in trying to set up its primary conflict and develop Mitchum's character and his relationships with the rest of the cast, the second half picks up thanks to its developing twists and well-executed action sequences. Screenwriters Paul Schrader and Robert Towne have written some classic films before and since, and while that same storytelling magic doesn't quite translate here, the effort that's been put into accurately depicting Yakuza culture and codes of honour is put to good narrative effect, especially in the film's rather shocking denouement. It hasn't aged all that well and the first half does drag a bit, but it's a decent enough film nonetheless.