Yakuza Graveyard — dvd movie review
Rage, honor, betrayal, duty, racism, love. All are at the heart of Fukasaku’s magnum opus, Yakuza Graveyard, a stunning cops and Yakuza tale that stands with the best hard boilded cop films of all time, be it domestic or international.
Tetsuya Watari plays tough as rusty-nails cop, Kuroiwa. An outcast from his youth, Kuroiwa is filled with an deep rooted rage that more often than not explodes in the face of those who cross him. Assigned to investigate two quietly warring Yakuza clans by a police branch looking to instigate a gang war, Kuroiwa initially has a field day busting heads of perps and being an all around badass. That is, until Kuroiwa meets Keiko (played by the wonderful Meiko Kaji), the half-Japanese half-Korean wife to the leader of the Nishida gang. An outsider despite her status, Kuroiwa is immediately drawn to her. As Kuroiwa falls for Keiko his eyes open to the corruption of the police organization, which stands in stark contrast to the ferocious honor and simple truth of the Nishida clan. As the film goes on, Kuroiwa’s alliances become blurred, until he can no longer be sure who, or what he is fighting for.
Fukasaku (Battle Royale, Tora! Tora! Tora!) makes no effort to prettify his picture, as doing so would stand at odds with the dark tone of the film. Intead he opts for a raw look with near natural lighting and fluid caught-on-the-fly steady-cam work — far from the staged beauty of either Suzuki (Norifumi or Seijun) or Shunya Ito. Fukasaku employs quite a few barrel roll dutches in an effort to capture the violent mayhem on screen. At times the camera seems literaly thrown into the fray, just as likely to be damaged as our enraged protagonist. This all helps make the violence is undeniably real and all the more shocking.
As brutal as the film is, however, the narrative deals intelligently with rather delicate subject matter. For example, the film deals quite a bit with Japan’s culture of isolation and history of Xenophobia. Much of this is evidenced and analyzed through the the film’s protagonist. Although Japanese born, Kuroiwa’s outsider status stems from the fact he was raised in Manchuria. This brief stint of his early youth became a point of contension for his peers, who immediately discounted his Japanese heritrage. This is not revealed in a series of flashbacks, but through a brief discussion. Most items are addressed as such. A nugget of information is introduced, and through the actions of the characters the audience can infer the implications. In the case of Kuroiwa you come to the understanding that he is not just some violence hungry cop, but a product of years and years of bullying and derision. Similar analyses can be applied to Keiko, whose strength is a direct result of her hard knock life as a half-foreigner. As such, the film’s lessons are far more powerful than the average brute force message film.
Yakuza Graveyard is easily one of Fukasaku’s best works, and as such, one of the best Japanese films of the 1970’s. The film is raw, gritty, and completely compelling. A must see for any genre enthusiast. A final note to film buffs: Keep an eye out for a brief homage to From Here to Eternity.
The DVD
Like Shogun Assassin, Yakuza Graveyard is a landmark Japanese film that has not seen a legitimate US DVD release until now. I’m not quite sure where Kino obtained their print, but this is a pretty mediocre transfer. Although shot in 35mm, the picture has a sort of flat, video quality to it. There’s a lot of edge enhancement and some places seem a slight bit overexposed. I’m guessing this was a laserdisc transfer rather than a full fledged Criterion/PanikHouse style re-mastering. Extras on the disc are slim, to say the least. There is the original trailer for the film, a trailer for Fukasaku’s Cops vs. Thugs, and a photo gallery of three pictures. Yep. Three. Likewise there are no commentary tracks or essay inserts to speak of. The one sheet insert does have the original poster for the film on one side, and still of the Keiko and Kuroiwa beach scene on the other, so I guess that’s a start. But, when all is said and done, you’re buying the disc for the excellent film contained.
About the Author
