Karakkaze yarô

Karakkaze Yaro" (Afraid to Die) a 1960 gangster film by little known Japanese master of arty off-beat action dramas, Yasuzo Masumura, turned up in the series "Japanese Film Noir" at San Sebastian 2008. This film is especially remarkable for the one full-on leading role performance by famous and infamous Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima, playing a gangster-yakuza opposite Wakao Ayako, one of the most beautiful and popular Japanese leading ladies of all time. Mishima isn't much of an actor, but just seeing this Nobel Prize level writer playing a tough talking gangster is enough. The film ends with a bravura sequence -- one of the most famous in Japanese cinema -- of Mishima stabbed by a hit man from a rival gang, dying on the up escalator of a Japanese department store during the Christmas rush. This is one I have been waiting for years to catch up with, and when it surfaced at San Sebastian in September, I was not disappointed. Another rare screen appearance by Mishima was in the masterful police thriller "Black Lizard" by Kinji Fukasaku, 1968 opposite Miwa Akihiro, Japan's leading Drag Queen entertainer and said to have been his main love interest off screen at the time. Half a dozen Mishima novels have been made into successful films and he has himself been the subject of various films, notably Paul Schrader's "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters", 1985.

Novelist Yukio Mishima stars as the hired gun for a down at heel yakuza clan in this top notch action flick. Unlike the previous reviewer, I think Mishima's performance is excellent, especially for those who go for that brooding James Dean attitude. Karakkaze yarô (Afraid to Die) was superbly shot in brilliant colour by cinematographer Hiroshi Murai (Sword of Doom, Samurai Assassin) and the widescreen Daieiscope process is well utilized by director Yasuzo Masumura. There are some wonderful and memorable set pieces, notably a completely twisted night club scene featuring a naughty song about bananas, and the final scene involving Mishima and an escalator. Well worth a look.

I've observed before, elsewhere, that if one is tired and starts watching an especially great film, it can have the effect of perking one up. Alternatively, one can be wide awake, and start watching an especially bad or unremarkable film, and it can have the effect of putting one to sleep. I'm not saying that it is specifically the fault of 'Afraid to die' that I fell asleep in the middle of watching, not any more than I'm saying that it is specifically an example of a bad movie. What I am saying is that for however broadly well made or enjoyable 'Afraid to die ' it, it doesn't specifically make much of an impression. And that's okay! Not every flick needs to be a revelation, or outwardly striking, and sometimes it's enough to look at something and say "yeah, it's fine" or "yeah, it's pretty good." Of course, without being actively engaging or inspiring an especial reaction, we'll also have no cause to rewatch, nor to give a particular recommendation for anyone else to check it out. And there's the rub, I suppose.

I enjoyed this. It's a worthwhile story, and one that has been told by other filmmakers from other countries with the necessary details adjusted to fit their culture: released from prison, a gangster faces pressure to give up the life, but change is hard and his seedy, violent past won't release him so easily. All involved made commendable, capable contributions to bring the saga to bear, from the writing, direction, and acting, to sets and costume design; from music and sound, to stunts and effects; from cinematography, to editing, to all other bits and bobs along the way. Some odds and ends are extra well done; others are a little less sure-footed; the sum total is just swell, even as protagonist Takeo is especially coarse, dubious, and unlikable. This is all that the feature needs to be, and it doesn't need to be more - although, if it were, then I might be inclined to speak of it more enthusiastically. I'm glad enough that I watched, but I'm also unlikely to ever think about this again.

I'm glad for those who get more out of 'Afraid to die' than I do; I've no quarrel with those who take a harsher view toward it, either. I wish there were more about this title to concretely earn my favor, but I suppose every now and again "good enough" is just that.

After serving in prison for two years and seven months, a Yakuza gangster named "Takeo Asahina" (Yukio Mishima) is within hours of finally being set free. However, an assassination attempt is made just hours before his release which unnerves him to the point that he requests to remain even longer. Unable the fully comply, the warden agrees to allow him to stay an additional twelve hours to temporarily keep other potential hit men in the dark concerning whether or not the assassination attempt was successful. What then follows are repeated attempts by Takeo to distance himself from a couple of personal relationships in order to confuse his rivals in the "Sagara gang" so that they cannot target those close to him. Unfortunately, this becomes more difficult for him when a new woman named "Yoshie Koizumi" (Ayako Wakao) enters his life. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I found this to be an enjoyable gangster film for the most part. One particular aspect that I found somewhat amusing was the manner in which Takeo's use of common sense to avoid being killed was interpreted as cowardice by his associates. Be that as it may, I often find that cultural differences like this make some films even more appealing. In any case, although I liked the acting of both Yukio Mishima and Ayako Wakao, I thought that the story dragged in certain places which tended to make the film seem solid but not necessarily spectacular. For that reason I rate this movie as slightly above average.

Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) was one of the most celebrated Japanese writers, nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature three times. Besides his literary work, Mishima is best known for his attempted coup d'état in honour of the emperor and his subsequent ritual suicide, but he also had a relatively short acting career. His best known performance is probably the lead role in Yasuzo Masumura's 1960 yakuza tale Afraid to Die.

At the beginning a yakuza named Takeo Asahina (Mishima) is released from prison after serving a few years for stabbing a member of a rivaling yakuza clan, the Sagara. Afraid of Sagara's revenge, Asahina tries to maintain a somewhat low profile while continuing his criminal businesses with his educated associate Aikawa (Eiji Funakoshi) and also begins an abusive relationship with a cashier girl Yoshie (Ayako Wakao) who doesn't approve of his dangerous lifestyle, a sentiment shared by the pharmacist girlfriend of Aikawa. The Asahina and Sagara clans then keep trying to one-up each other in their businesses, such as blackmailing a medicine company and kidnapping each others loved ones. Takeo has promised to leave his old life behind, but the dangerous circumstances are putting him under great pressure.

A lot of the responsibility regarding the effectiveness of the film lies on the shoulders of Mishima as the protagonist Asahina. Luckily he handles the role pretty well and looks convincing as the skinny but tough gangster who has to maintain a hard surface despite his hidden fears. Actually, it is this eponymous fear of death that I wish would have been examined more in the film; I would have loved to see more of nightmarish noir atmosphere at the expense of straightforward crime movie plot. Even though the mood does not quite reach truly powerful levels until the final scenes, technical details are well created throughout, from the dark streets to the seedy nightclub where Asahina's ex-girlfriend Masako (Yaeko Mizutani) performs as a cabaret singer. I enjoyed the loud jazzy music too, even though it is used quite sparingly.

The film does present some commentary about the nature of life of crime; for instance, Asahina's comments about how money should mean more than anything for a yakuza and his feelings of commitment to the family tradition (his father was also a yakuza). The cymbal-playing toy monkey and the impressive escalator scene at the end can also be understood as symbols for the inescapable criminal lifestyle. Even so, for the most part the plot focuses on the increasing tension between the two clans instead of artistic symbolism; this would be completely OK if said mental strain came across as even harder than it does now. Now I feel the tightening atmosphere leaves some room for improvement, as already mentioned above.

In any case, as a traditional crime story Afraid to Die works decently and contains plenty of things to enjoy. Besides Mishima, the veteran actor Takashi Shimura and the sinister-looking Shigeru Kôyama deliver good performances as Asahina's tattooed yakuza uncle Gohei and an asthmatic hit-man Masa respectively. Visually the movie is fine too. I have yet to see more of Mishima's work as an actor, but based on this movie he would have had potential for a much longer career in film. Anyway, personally I liked Afraid to Die and would not hesitate to recommend it to crime movie fans.