The Outrage (2010)

While it has been a decade since Takeshi Kitano made another gangster film, "Outrage" is pretty much the exact sort of thing he used to make. Having seen "Sonatine", "Brother" and, to a lesser extent, "Violent Cop", it's definitely a serious case of deja vu here. All the films were very nihilistic--with lots of violence, betrayal and yakuza assassinations. And, as usual, Kitano is completely emotionless as he kills in the most difficult to watch manner. Had this film introduced anything new, I would have given it a higher score.

The film is about betrayals. A mob boss orchestrates fights between various yakuza families. And, in turn, once these battles are complete, he then pit the winners against other gang members. It's all very ugly but well made...but nothing more...and unpleasant.

Fmovies: What comes to your mind when one mentions "Yakuza"? Is it something bleak and dark? That's apparently what's delivered through this Takeshi Kitano film.

Typically, the topic of yakuza is often shunned. If ever confronted, it is often used to accentuate comedic elements, whilst leaving the truth of the yakuza world unchallenged. However, director/screenwriter/actor Takeshi Kitano goes against the flow and makes a comeback with this feature film after almost a decade long hiatus. Though this is not as well received as compared to other made in Japan films, it has still received much acclamation. Earlier in his directing career, he was already known for "Violent Cop" and "Sonatine", which also dealt with the dark world of yakuza. It is therefore admirable for his efforts to bring forth the most truthful reflection of the dark side of Japan despite the risk of low commercial success. And for this film, he has once again managed to project a somewhat accurate image of the realities in the yakuza scene.

The overarching plot of the film works with the conflicts that could possibly exist in any relationships – malice and greed. It circles the power struggle between the Iketomo-gumi and its affliation Murase-gumi and his sworn brother Otomo (Takeshi Kitano) who has his own crew as well. While Otomo tries to break free from the subordination of the Murase-gumi, they too try to acquire greater power. In this power struggle, they begin to plot against one another and result in sheer violence and torture. In this aspect, Takeshi is quite creative and playful as he invents numerous ways that the characters get tortured or die. As revealed in one of his interviews, he actually came up with these before he wrote the narrative that parallels with the violence. The convincing gore and never-imagined ways to kill and torture; for this you really have to watch it for yourself.

Takeshi has carefully chosen who to cast for this film. He made a point not to repeat any actors who worked with him in his previous yakuza related works. The cast is pretty commendable for they capture the essence of the characters they are portraying, and even are said to get through each scene with only one or two shots. One of the more outstanding actors is undeniably Ryo Kase, who sports fluent English as opposed to the Japrish/Engrish we often associate Japanese with. That being said, the English dialogues between him and the gaijin (foreigner) were rather blunt and funny. This is probably intentionally designed to poke fun and entertain the viewers.

In the technical aspect, Takeshi displays much competence in his camera- work. From wide-angled shots, to close-ups, to long pans and even point- of-view shots; he utilized a variety of these shots to effectively communicate the non-verbal messages. Put simply, you will find it easier to 'get into the mood' as he engages the viewers very much. Also, hallmark of his films is the seemingly abrupt cuts that often do not signal direct causality in the sequences. As the idiom goes, "one man's meat is another man's poison". You will either hate this style or love this style. Though it can get confusing at times, the overarching plot sets a frame for which the sequences happen. Therefore in its fairly organized manner, it sparks brilliance in its narrative.

Overall the film though unconventional, is a careful examination of the selfish desires that deteriorates relationships. Fitted into the yakuza context, this message has an

It played out like a floating showcase of stereotypical organized criminal violence. There was no depth to either the characters or the story.

The only characters I halfway cared about were Kitano's and Shiina's characters but even then, Shiina's character wasn't very likable and Kitano's character didn't make any sense. There's no honor among thieves: an adage well illustrated by his elder leadership and all his associates - yet Kitano's the lone, old school honorable thief? How'd he get to be the only honorable underboss in an organization full of dishonorable back-stabbers? Also, I think the story's twists bore a few too many cultural dependencies and so they didn't quite hit with the intended force.

I like Kitano - but this movie was too shallow.

The Outrage fmovies. As far as I can remember, the first Takeshi Kitano film that I saw him in was a Yakuza one called Brother, where his character got to get to the United States while on the run from Japan, and showed his relative a thing or two about running a racket and setting up shop in a foreign land. Between then and now there were the offbeat support roles in mainstream films to art-house fare and now I've gone full circle with Kitano's latest Jpaanese film Outrage which made it to Cannes, telling a story none other than one involving Japanese gangsters.

But this is not your ordinary, romanticized tale of gangsters where there's an identifiable lead who'd probably be that anti-hero, or villain with the heart of gold. Outrage is an intense look at the structure of the Japanese yakuza, where there is proper hierarchy in terms of funding, promotions, and the likes, and how things are run in that secret society. It's almost like a corporation with a CEO in place, with various houses reporting back to him, each having a report card to score, and the weak ones taken out from the organization, in brutal fashion of course.

Written, directed and edited by Takeshi Kitano, this is one film that tells you straight in the face that these are all bad men, with zero humanity nor any room for redemption, as they lead their corrupt lives very much looking over their shoulders, choosing to go onto the path of obvious hypocrisy, where loyalties are flimsy and count for nothing and are only as good as what you can bring and contribute to the coffers. Which is an interesting notion as you see orders no matter how absurd they sound being followed to a T, and some of the best scenes involve contemplation of what's morally ethical (ok, even for a bit) when told to betray another, and this not only involves the hoodlums, but those who are on the side to enforce the law being no better themselves.

And the catalyst for everything that unfolds in the film, gets sparked off by something as menial as an exploitation of a seemingly harmless man in a karaoke bar turned wrong, which in essence is something hatched by the those in the lower rung of the structure because the head honcho disapproves of certain relationships being linked with the larger family alliance. Yes, those at the bottom of the food chain, gets to do all the dirty work. From then the narrative moves at a frantic pace as things get to spiral out of control and taking on a life of its own, with everything from the gangsters' arsenal of weapons like bribery, assassinations and blackmail being deployed in a systematic execution of foes from each side.

The violence on display doesn't flinch, which sort of provides you that cautionary hint that crime doesn't pay, and that doesn't just mean the mutilation of the pinky is enough in ritual apologies. Kitano's story serves up execution after execution that will make the sternest of hearts cower at the way they are carried out without remorse, even though you clearly know they are evil guys who deserve as good as the punishment and death they dish out themselves. You'd get plenty of bloody good gore thrown in for good measure without the camera cutting away, which splatters the film with plenty of crimson red. In some ways it plays out like poetic justice, especially when accompanied by the really magnificent soundtrack by Keiichi Suzuki.

Outrage is outrageously recommended for those who'd like to sit on the sidelines and observe how people destroy other people in society t

A very well-executed movie in terms of directing and acting, and it's a decent watch for anyone who enjoys a good mafia movie, or a yakuza movie as the case may be. However, there is nothing new on display. It blends in with the masses and masses of movies in its genre.

Throughout the entire movie, I kept feeling a sense of lack. This lack was a lack of sympathy you feel for these characters, and the lack of understanding for the system on display. You don't understand what's going on until about an hour into the movie, and by then it's a little too late to care. There's a little too much shooting first, and too few questions asked. I believe Kitano really tried to write a movie that could stand among classics like Scarface and the Godfather in terms of epics, but fell short.

However, I would say the movie is worth a watch, if only to see what the movie could've been.

First of all if you're gonna complain about too much violence in a gangster movie. Go watch something like " Sesame street ". This movie has top class acting from almost everybody. Story is excellent and really shows how the big yakuza bosses play mind games all along. My favourite scene of the movie is in that noodle shop where a random customer will find something floating in his bowl of noodles =). If u wanna see a really cool and awesome yakuza movie, this should be it. I can not wait for the second part of this movie. It's suppose to come out anytime in 2012. I am a huge huge fan of the movie " Brother " and another epic Japanese yakuza movie called " Agitator ". If you liked those movies, you will simply love this movie too. give it a shot. 2 thumbs up