It's hard to describe the hypnotic authority of director and actor Takeshi Kitano. In his first American venture, Brother, Kitano plays a yakuza who's been exiled from Japan after the death of his boss. In Los Angeles, he discovers that his half-brother has become a small-time hood. Kitano quickly takes over, casually setting in motion gang wars and killing sprees. But a basketball game gets as much emphasis as an assassination; Kitano's camera watches a dead body lit up by the flash of gunshots, completely ignoring the shootout that's causing the light. Yet his movies don't seem arty, just efficient--and effective: you may not know whether to laugh or flinch, but you will not stop watching. As an actor, Kitano slouches, twitches, and stares blankly--but you won't stop watching him either. If you like Brother, check out Fireworks and Sonatine; gangsters will never seem the same. --Bret Fetzer
2.
Abandoned by the brotherhood of his yakuza clan, tough guy Yamamoto (Beat Takeshi) is forced to leave Tokyo. He goes to Los Angeles in search of Ken (Claude Maki), his younger half-brother. Alone and with a new identity, Yamamoto finds himself frustrated by foreign surroundings, especially since he doesn't speak the language.
Yamamoto eventually tracks down Ken, who turns out to be a likable small-time drug dealer. When Ken introduces his older "aniki" to his home boys, Yamamoto is surprised to find that one of them is Denny (Omar Epps), an African-American guy with whom he had a violent run-in on his first day in Los Angeles. Despite initial suspicions and hostilities, an unexpected bond begins to develop between Denny and Yamamoto.
Much to his surprise, Yamamoto finds himself quickly back into the routine violence of his old Tokyo life. He efficiently and sardonically bumps off Ken's supplier and entire Chicano gang to take over their turf.
Before long, Yamamoto's gang grows in number. Business flourishes, money flows. Yamamoto and his boys now wear expensive suits, cruise in limousines and work out of classy loft offices. As success breeds jealousy, Yamamoto joins forces with young rival Japanese crime lord Shirase (Masaya Kato).
The one guy you trust to get your back when the whole city's trying to put a bullet in it.
A yakuza gangster, exiled to Los Angeles, with a big bag of money and a really bad attitude, ignites a war of violence when he attempts to take over the downtown drug turf.
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
