Unification of Japan 27

Kill Bill: Vol. 1(en)

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

HEAT -Incandescence- PART I(ja)

A young man named Tatsumi Karasawa suddenly rises in the criminal world of Shinjuku, Tokyo, and becomes the leader of a group of amateurs who show no reluctance to face police and gangs alike. His successes in the Tokyo underground make a chief and a yakuza boss plot a conspiracy to eliminate him.

Kill or Be Killed(ja)

When Yakuza decides to take avenge his brother, the war shall begin.

The Pinkie(ja)

Since they were both five, Ryosuke has been stalked by Momoko - the ugliest girl in the village. Her love for Ryosuke is so boundless that she has her face surgically altered to suit his taste - but still he wants nothing to do with her. Ryosuke goes in for fleeting romance - for example, with the girlfriend of a gangster boss. But when he finds out about their affair, he has Ryosuke's little finger hacked off. Magically, the finger falls into Momoko's hands, and she uses it to clone Ryosuke, so she can finally have him (or almost him) for herself. And this is just the first five minutes of Lisa Takeba's short-but-powerful feature debut. Just like in her previous short films, the director - who cut her teeth in the advertising world and as the writer of a video game - throws a lot of genres and techniques into the mix: from science fiction to gangster films, from hospital eroticism to animation. Hectic and absurd, but with its heart in the right place. © IFFR

Dolls(ja)

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

The Great Okinawa Yakuza War(ja)

Chiba, looking gnarly, and acting as animalistic as ever, stars alongside Matsukata as violent gangsters battling their way through fight after bloody fight with rival yakuza on the streets of Okinawa.

Life of Hishakaku(ja)

After eloping with a prostitute named Otoyo, Hishakaku takes refuge in the Kogane family’s turf. Indebted to Boss Kogane for his kindness, Hishakaku swears to dedicate himself to protect the Koganes in time of crisis. Hishakaku’s humble life comes to a sudden halt when the Kogane family becomes involved in a fatal feud with their rival, and Hishakaku’s services are called upon.

Blue in Isezaki(ja)

唄祭けんか道中(ja)

Dochinpira 5(ja)

Jin gets kicked out of the Ranko's apartment and uses his gigolo skills to find a place to stay for the night. He meets an absolutely gorgeous hostess club girl and she offers a deal: if Jin "finishes" first, he becomes her kept man. Jin wants to be taken care of, but his pride won’t let him lose like that. In the end, though, he’s completely defeated. Now, while his new "owner" keeps Jin around, she’s also being pursued by two men: Toyama, a brainy yakuza, and Oba, the man who sold her to a brothel. As Jin watches the situation unfold, he ends up caught in a dangerous incident far beyond his expectations!

Dochinpira 4(ja)

Jin’s recent life as a gigolo had been going terribly. No matter how long he waited, he couldn't find any good-looking woman. When he did finally find one, she turned out to be in the same business as yakuza and ended up taking his money, and to make things worse, she was into sadomasochism. In the middle of this mess, Jin runs into Ranko, one of his ex-girlfriends and both begin living together again in a strange and unexpected arrangement. Ranko now wants to live a honest life with him, but Jin hasn’t changed at all...

Japan's Most Chivalrous(ja)

Black Rain(en)

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Whipmaster: Ballad of Murder(ja)

Ryotatsu, the wayward Priest blinded by Shinkai, the Wicked Priest, has his own story in this ultra-violent tale from the era of the Meiji Reconstruction. When a woman leaves her blind son at the Monastery, Ryotatsu is forced to teach the boy how to cope as a blind person in old Japan. When he takes the child with him on the road to find the boy's mother, they run afoul of not only yakuza gangsters, but some corrupt army officers have been trying to sway public opinion against the Satsuma rebels by posing as members of Saigo Takamori's group. It's a bloody mistake for them to underestimate the strength of the Blind Priest, and he'll make them pay with their lives!

Wasabi(fr)

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

Dochinpira 2(ja)

The Haozakura-kai continues to relentlessly tail Jin every day, but now, a yakuza from the Enshin-gumi, Mizuno Tetsuo, appears. Just as they share a cup of sake as blood brothers, an assassin from the Tendo-gumi attacks and kills Mizuno, leaving behind his only sister, Rei. This is where Jin's days of agony begins, entrusted with Rei.

Brother(ja)

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Taxi 2(fr)

A cabdriver and a cop race to Paris to rescue a love interest and the Japanese minister of defense from kidnappers.

AKP: Job 27(en)

A Yakuza hitman travels to North America for his 27th job, only to find lingering memories of lost love through a chance encounter with a beautiful prostitute.

New Third Gangster III(ja)

The Shineikai, headed by Goro Numata, was doing his best in partnership with the Taiwan Mafia. In order to suppress the runaway, Reiniro Masaki, the second chairman of the Wuxia Association, stands up with the men in the back cup.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima(ja)

Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.

The City of Lost Souls(ja)

Brazilian-Japanese gangster Mario rescues his Chinese girlfriend Kei as she's about to be deported from Japan. Desperate to escape, he hides in Tokyo's booming Japanese-Portuguese community and seeks passage from the country from a Russian mobster. To meet his price, they hold up a bigtime drug deal between the Chinese Mafia and the local Yakuza.

Jigen Daisuke(ja)

Feeling unhappy with his gun, Jigen is looking for the world’s best gunsmith. He finally finds out that Chiharu, who runs a watch shop, is the person he’s been seeking. Then, Jigen meets Oto, who comes to Chiharu’s shop looking for a gun. Jigen finds out about Oto's secrets and the mysterious organization that’s after her. After Oto is kidnapped, Jigen gets into a desperate battle to save her.

The Enforcer(en)

A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.

Mr. Long(ja)

Long is a Taiwanese killer known for his sword skills. After Long fails a Tokyo mission, he moves to a small town where no one knows about him.

Silverton Siege(en)

After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.

Rainy Dog(ja)

A Japanese assassin stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.

Agitator(ja)

When a young Yakuza torments the customers in a rival crime family's nightclub, it is not long before his dead body is found. Soon, inter-family retaliation follows, resulting in the death for a prominent crime boss. Devastated by this turn of events, the temperamental Kenzaki vows to avenge his boss's death and, as bloody violence ensues, the body count reaches excessive proportions.

The Perfect Weapon(en)

Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.

K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces(ja)

In an alternate version of 1949 Japan in which World War II never happened, the Japanese capital of Teito is home to both an ultra rich upper class and the dirt poor masses. The city is thrown into a state of panic when a phantom thief called “The Kaijin (Fiend) with 20 Faces” (K-20 for short) begins to use his mysterious abilities to steal from the rich and give to the poor. One day a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for K-20’s crimes and becomes determined to clear his name. He teams up with K-20’s next target, a wealthy duchess named Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu) and her detective fiancé (Toru Nakamura), to take K-20 down once and for all.

Best of the Best 2(en)

In an underground fight club, blackbelt Travis Brickley is killed after losing to the evil martial arts master Brakus. Travis' death is witnessed by Walter Grady, the son of his best friend Alex Grady. Alex and his partner, Tommy Lee, vow to avenge their friend's death by defeating Brakus and shutting down the fight club.

A Colt Is My Passport(ja)

A gang lord hires Kamimura, a hit man, to take out a rival boss who's gotten greedy.

No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers(en)

Two feuding brothers (one a policeman, the other a martial arts expert) of different political views, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent, killed by the mafia.

Sister Street Fighter(ja)

Li Mansei is a martial-arts champion turned undercover agent. When he is captured by a drug lord, his sister Li Koryu turns to his former martial-arts school, including the powerful Sonny Kawasaka, for help in the inevitable battle royale.

Goyokin(ja)

A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.

Dirt(en)

In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.

El padrino: The Latin Godfather(en)

In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper in the drug world, and his new life as a dealer begins. In a world where a man wants everything, he may end up with nothing.

Graveyard of Honor(ja)

A barkeeper saves a Yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.

Female Yakuza Tale(ja)

Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.

Tokyo Fist(ja)

A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru. After an altercation, Tsuda begins training rigorously himself, leading to an extremely bloody, violent confrontation.