Having been unavailable to buy on DVD in the UK for several years, Japanese auteur
Beat Takeshi Kitanos
Brother returns to the format this month. Made in 2000, Brother marked the first of Kitanos directorial efforts to be filmed outside his homeland with the dialogue mainly in English. Writing, directing, editing and starring in the film, Brother follows contrasting themes of brotherhood and race while mixing extreme violence with moments of comedy as evident in Kitanos earlier films Boiling Point, Violent Cop and Sonatine. The film focuses on Yamamoto (Kitano), a Yakuza gangster forced out of Japan for his own safety when a gang war all but wipes out his clan. Armed with a fake credit card, a forged passport and a bag of money, he travels to Los Angeles, where with the help of his younger half brother, he organises one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the city. Yamamotos loyal band of followers seem unstoppable until they run afoul of the Mafia. Soon all that he has built, quickly and bloodily, starts to unravel as every member of his gang is marked for death. This may sound like the plot to half a dozen Steven Segal movies but dont be fooled, this film moves to a different beat. Deliberately slow in its build up, developing characters at a snails pace all the while leading to an explosive final half hour, the films sudden bursts of violence are swift and bloody. The film is accentuated by Kitanos trademark emotive long, wide shots beautifully framing the action eschewing the kinetic editing and camera movement normally associated with this type of film.
Takeshi is effortlessly cool in a way Samuel L. Jackson could only dream of. His quiet, nuanced portrayal of Yamamoto is carefully drawn with emotion. With a subtle facial tic and his eyes permanently hidden behind sunglasses, he oozes style and takes command of every scene. His slightly unhinged persona is reminiscent of Joe Pescis Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, you never quite know when he is joking or when he might snap and pull his gun. The supporting cast is made up of a range of international talent, most notably
Omar Epps as Denny, a member of Yamamotos gang. After randomly being glassed in the face by a newly arrived Yamamoto, Denny forms an unlikely bond with Yamamoto as their empire begins to grow. Epps is probably best known as Dr. Eric Foreman in multi award winning US TV show House, as well as appearances in E.R. and Scream 2. Other cast members include a number of Kitano regulars such as Susumu Terajima and Ren Osugi who both starred alongside the director in Hana-Bi and Sonatine. Surrounding himself with dependable co-stars clearly aids the films theme of brotherhood. The films score by
Joe Hisaishi is excellent, with music kept to a minimum in scenes where it is not required making it really impactful in the scenes where it does kick in to accentuate the action and violence. Hisaishi is another of Kitanos regular collaborators; he also scored a great number of Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away and Ponyo.
The films East meets West, fish out of water scenario is not uncommon in Gangster films but adds a fresh take on the theme. The obvious culture clash of the Japanese Yakuza and Italian Mafia as well as the black and Hispanic community is well handled without becoming parody or overly stereotypical. Kitano also does not shy from showing us the backside of Los Angeles; this is no glossy, tourist love letter to the city, instead opting to show the city at its absolute worst as a dangerous, hostile place. My main criticism of the film is that the ending is a little too Hollywood and betrays all that has gone before. I wont spoil it by explaining what happens but the final five minutes just dont seem to fit and feel tagged on to lighten the general mood of what should have been a fairly gloomy conclusion. Its as if Kitano felt with this being his US debut he had make the ending upbeat, whether this is down to studio pressure or an ill-judged directorial decision is unclear. The DVD presentation is good if unremarkable retaining a fair amount of grain in the picture. The subtitles are well presented and are clear and easy to follow. The disc includes a number of extras all of which were unavailable for review. The special features will include a making of featurette, interview reel, trailer and photo gallery.
Brother is available on DVD from today.