Ryûji

The first time I watched Ryûji the movie lost me probably right at the beginnig. It seemed to be a mediocre yakuza-flick, with a rather unlikeable main-character. Quickly I was following the story just with one eye. After watching it recently a second time, I have to admit that this was a sadly mistake. The strength of the movie definitely lies in the last two thirds, where we see our Protagonist Ruji struggle with himself and the decision which road to choose. Unhappy with his yakuza life, away from his ex-wife and his daughter, he tries to go "straight". Reunited with his family in Kyushu, earning his money with a "normal" job far away from Tokyo, it seems possible for him to achieve happiness in this way of living. But the reasons for choosing yakuza lifestyle in the first place are not so easy to overcome. In my favorite scene of the movie Ruyji is watching a group of old men playing Croquet in the park, a simple but strong scene, it's open for each viewer to read Ryujis thoughts at this moment. We see the climax of his struggle in the great penultimate scene, beautiful acted and again simple but strong.

Maybe not a masterpiece, but definetly one of my favourite yakuza movies now.