Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.
Direction
Kitano's deadpan timing turns silence into weaponized poetry.
Cinematography
Okinawa beaches shot like limbo between life and death.
Acting
Kitano's face: entire monologues in a single blink.
Director
Takeshi Kitano
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kitano made this after a near-fatal motorcycle accident; the film's meditation on mortality and stillness mirrors his own convalescence.
JP
