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GONIN
AKA:
The Five
Year:
1995 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Going
by the cover art and credits for 'Gonin', you could easily be
forgiven for expecting another exhilarating insight into the
Yakuza underworld with Takeshi Kitano starring as the
gun-toting anti-hero but sadly, this film isn't quite as clear
cut as all that.
Bandai
(Sato) was once a famous singer until the day he wound up
hugely indebted to the Yakuza. This ruined his glamorous
lifestyle and he found himself operating out of their pocket
as a humble night club owner. Now his tolerance has
reached boiling point and he decides to enlist the help of a
few of the unsavoury characters he has encountered along to
way to assist him in breaking free of his shackles.
Together they decide to rob the hideout of the local Yakuza
boss but they have to remain anonymous if it is to go through
successfully. Of course, things never quite go according
to plan and when one of the group is tortured into talking,
the five men find themselves pursued by the Yakuza and a
mysterious one-eyed hit man (Kitano). On the run and
wanted by some of the most dangerous men alive, you have to
wonder what price the gang will pay for their freedom.
The
first thing that is noticeable about 'Gonin' is that Takeshi
Kitano is absent from a large portion of the movie and those
expecting this to be his film will be disappointed. That
aside, what 'Gonin' does offer is an over-the-top tale
of the worm turning in which director Ishii utilises a
combination of the cult gangster theme mixed with an overdose
of the shock factor. A promising enough concept you may
think until you begin to watch the opening which greets you
with numerous poorly explained flashbacks and the hurried
introduction of several outskirt characters. Having been
bombarded with these puzzling visuals, Ishii then sees fit to
introduce some grotesque character traits which have you
wondering whether this was in fact the film for you. I'm
not a prude in any sense of the word but graphic scenes of
rape and a father that batters his family to death are not my
ideas of entertainment. However, a plot does eventually
arise from this mess and this is when 'Gonin' finally manages
to present an attention grabbing narrative that entices you to
watch until the finale. Whether or not you last this
long though depends on your opinions on the use of trendy
violence in films.
From
the cast, Kitano is the most recognisable face and puts in his
usual "charismatic killer" performance but seeing as
his role is a small one, its only by looking at the other
actors that you can get a proper assessment of the acting in 'Gonin'.
Sato in the leading role should be the man who catches your
eye but his performance is very lacklustre and he remains
quiet and humbled throughout. Thankfully though,
Masahiro Motoki more than makes up for this as he leaps off
the screen with a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from the
maniacal to truly heartfelt which shows extreme promise from
such a young actor. The little action that accompanies
the film is nothing outstanding but occasionally produces an
heir of style that is befitting for this genre. Kitano's
presence adds a certain spark that is missing from the early
shootouts but to be honest, it rarely amounts to anything that
we haven't seen before and presented under better
circumstances.
Ultimately,
if you manage to remain interested whilst the film establishes
a story and can tolerate the odd sense of the macabre then 'Gonin'
does provide some flashes of excellence. Perhaps it has
gathered more hype than it deserves and the inclusion of
Kitano is deceiving but the plot twists and stylish direction
do keep you hanging on right up to the end. In my
opinion though, it's probably more of a rental than a
purchase.
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