OUTRAGE

Review by Terrence Kelsey

OUTRAGE OPENS FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2011

Takeshi Kitano is back in bloodtastic yakuza style. It has been 10 years since he made this type of film, and he delivers in spades.

In addition to writing, and directing, Kitano (in usual form) stars as Otomo, the head of his own yakuza clan, but who’s ranking purpose is to do the bidding for Ikemoto (Jun Kunimura, previously seen getting decapitated by Lucy Liu in Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL VOL. 1), who is the lieutenant in the larger Sannokai crime syndicate. To appease the top Sannokai boss Sekiuchi aka “Mr. Chairman”(Kitamura Soichiro), Ikemoto orders Otomo’s gang to sabotage relations between himself and the outsider Murase-gumi gang for their narcotics dealings in the area. Unbeknownst to boss Sekiuchi, Ikemoto had made a brotherly pact with Murase (Renji Ishibashi) while in prison and now Ikemoto must resort to nefarious means to hide that fact.  “Mr. Chairman” doesn’t like or respect Murase and he wants to control Murase’s territory. Otomo’s gang complies with the order, but they are being manipulated at every turn, as each faction wants to out maneuver the other for supreme control of the territory. You may be surprised to see who eventually comes out on top of this complex web of deceit and corruption amongst the Japanese crime underworld.

Gloriously shot in cinescope, OUTRAGE plays out like a violent, and often times bloody game of chess. Strategic moves against an opponent are made with much thought behind them – a battle of wits and multiple double crosses between several Yakuza gangs, most of whom are supposed to be allies. But there can only be one alpha gang, hence the treacherous terrain the various characters must travel and abide by. The difference here is we get copious amounts of intense violence mixed with black humor that had me smiling and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

It is being noted that the film has its moments of racial insensitivity towards the lone black character – an African diplomat blackmailed into working for Otomo’s gang or face certain death. Whenever he refuses or complains, he is constantly reminded that he is “dealing with the yakuza”. Granted, the verbal racism isn’t as bad as Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS (1992). However, the continuous threats this character must endure is not pleasant to watch (and obviously they’re not supposed to be). Still, this scenario is a stark contrast to Kitano’s last yakuza film BROTHER (2000), where his lead character takes on an African-American apprentice in Los Angeles.

That said – OUTRAGE had me joyously glued to the screen with every plot twist guiding my way. The film should certainly appeal to all Takeshi Kitano enthusiasts. But if you are new to his films or Japanese crime films in general (and my description above isn’t clear enough), just keep reminding yourselves: “You know you’re dealing with yakuza? Don’t you?”