For me, one of the most interesting topics that a film can center around is organized crime. Many films that center around organized crime are among what are considered to be the greatest films of all time. The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, and many more. All of these films have forever etched their names into the great movie hall of fame. However, America is certainly not the only country to have organized crime, which also means that America is not the only country to make awesome movies about said organized crime. The yakuza are often called the Japanese equivalent to the Mafia, and the films about the yakuza are among some of the greatest in Japanese cinema. In this review I will be discussing Kinji Fukasaku’s iconic 1973 yakuza film Battles Without Honor and Humanity (仁義なき戦い “Jingi Naki Tatakai“), and will be delving into the culture behind the Yakuza and Yakuza cinema.
Battles Without Honor and Humanity is the first film in a five part series directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based off of the real story of a yakuza named Kōzō Minō. It is set in post war Hiroshima and centers around Shozo Hirono, who goes to prison for shooting a yakuza thug. There he meets Wakasugi, who convinces Yoshio Yamamori, patriach of the Yamamori family, to bail Shozo out of jail. Once he gets out, Shozo and his war buddies all swear loyalty to the Yamamori family officially making them members of the Yakuza. The film then goes into the struggles between the Yamamori family and the rivaling Doi Family. Eventually, Shozo is sent to prison again and the film skips years forward. While Shozo was gone, the members of the Yamamori family began selling philopon, a form of meth (Fun fact: philopon was originally used by the Japanese military during World War II as a performance enhancement drug, but was later outlawed). All of the members get super rich off of selling philopon. However, the members start to fight amongst themselves and a full on civil war breaks out between different factions in the family. The second half of the film focuses on this civil war and shows us the brutality and betrayal that can go on between people that are supposed to be sworn brothers.
This movie is grimy and violent and brutal. As the title of the film suggests, there is no honor or humanity to be seen in the actions of these characters. This film goes against the traditional depiction of Yazuka as following a code of honor and being depicted as chivalrous figures (In Japanese, Yakuza films are sometimes called 仁侠映画 “Ninkyou eiga”, literally meaning “chivalry film”). This movie attempts to show the true dirty details of the endless violence that goes on between yakuza groups. Fukasaku uses a hand held camera and gloomy natural lighting to create a more real, almost documentary-like feeling that makes the violence of this film feel all the more brutal. I think that this style really works well for the film, and it makes it really unique compared to most other crime films. This film is sometimes called the “Japanese Godfather“, because of it’s status as perhaps the most famous Yakuza film, but I think that this comparison is unfair to the film. Stylistically and thematically the two films are not very alike. This film’s style really is one of it’s strongest points, and it inspired a new wave of grimy, hyper-violent Yakuza films in the 70s. Another thing that needs to be mentioned it the film’s theme song. Anytime an important character gets killed or something surprising happens, there’s a freeze frame and then the theme song kicks in with it’s blaring horns. It’s awesome every time and never fails to put a smile on my face. The theme song is pretty well known in Japan, and can be heard even today in all sorts of commercials and variety shows.
Final Thoughts
If I were to give any complaints about this film, it would be with how it ends. The ending scene it self is actually really cool, and works well as a climax to the story. The problem is that it ends very abruptly without any proper resolution. Of course, this is to set up for the sequels, but it does leave the watcher a little confused and unsatisfied. However, even if you don’t want to watch the whole series (even though you should), and are just interested in the first film, it is still 100% worth watching the film just by itself. There is a good reason why this film is considered one of the best yakuza films of all time. I greatly enjoyed watching this movie and I could easily recommend this to any fan of crime films.