The story follows a trio of Japanese youths of Chinese descent who escape their semi-rural upbringing and relocate to Shinjuku, Tokyo, where they befriend a troubled Shanghai prostitute and fall foul of a local crime syndicate. Like many of Miike's works, the film examines the underbelly of respectable Japanese society and the problems of assimilation faced by non-ethnically Japanese people in Japan.
Direction
Miike's controlled chaos—every frame reeks of desperation.
Cinematography
Neon-soaked Shinjuku as beautiful prison.
Acting
Kazuki Kitamura's volcanic, doomed intensity.
Director
Takashi Miike
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Miike's 'Black Society Trilogy' exploring Japan's treatment of Zainichi Koreans and Chinese immigrants, a topic mainstream Japanese cinema largely ignores.
The Shinjuku locations were filmed guerrilla-style without permits; that chaotic energy is real pedestrians reacting to actual fights being staged.
JP
