OUTRAGE

Expensive cars, business suits, and guns, everything a mafia movie needs. From the beginning of the film it is evident who the big Yakuza boss is, who the underlings are, and the type of operation that the Japanese mafia is running. Within fifteen minutes of the opening of the film someone has already “disrespected” the big boss, and as a result some dirty dealings have to be done. But in a film that relies on betrayal and revenge, shouldn’t you be rooting for at least one of the characters? I mean, there has to be someone that I want to win in the end, right? Maybe someone like the Yakuza boss? Or even one of the underbosses? I’m just not sure that in this film you are ever hoping that one of these gangsters will achieve something.
This film’s focus seems to meander around a group of people, never really deciding which man it is going to truly focus on. But overall, the main plot centers on the inner workings of the Ikemoto family, a small family within the Yakuza mob circle who are seeking to expand their crime empire. Ikemoto, the leader has been dealing drugs with an up and coming crime boss, Murase, who Ikemoto seeks to bump off and take over the turf. He sets up a dispute between his crime ring and that of his co-conspirator in order to create a miniature war that will force his friend’s retirement.
But the backstabbing doesn’t stop there. Otomo, who is the man that does the dirty work, (and who I think may be the main character if there is one) seeks to help his boss force Ikemoto to retire at the same time in order to rise in the gang’s ranks of leadership. Yet, this action does not actually occur until close to the end of the film. Otomo spends the main part of the film performing various violent acts on behalf of the Ikemoto family.
The Yakuza boss who seems to be orchestrating everything has some grand scheme to get rid of Ikemoto, Murase, and establish his right-hand man as the new Ikemoto boss. He does so by making promises with the other gangsters like Otomo, saying if his boss dies, then he will be assured a higher position. But then, he goes around on his word and promises it to someone else. Ultimately, his efforts destroy the Ikemoto family, which must have been his goal, but then he is ironically killed by his own right-hand man who then takes over the Yakuza Empire. Thus, we are left with very few people to follow after we’ve watched them for almost two hours.
Though Outrage or Autoreiji has the hopes of being a great modern mobster film, the convoluted plot really takes away from the film as a whole. This confusion likely comes out of the fact that I didn’t know who to follow. I wanted someone who had some redeeming qualities to have reason for killing off these other “bad guys.” But it seems that no one in the actual film has an attachment to one another. The film portrays all of the underbosses and grunts that perform the day-to-day illegal operations as completely opportunistic, waiting for their chance to shoot the boss and take over. If there is no loyalty or redemption, then the director may be showing us that within this criminal hierarchy, there is no real structure, and the end result is just a constant bloodbath.
But then what is the goal of the film? Who are we rooting for? If there is no structure, then what does it matter that this family is being killed off and this other man is taking control? Is the goal simply to show how the Yakuza operates? Or is it just a plot based around ideas for killing people? Shouldn’t the deaths of these men mean something to the audience?
Kitano, as writer and director, really did his job well in exemplifying the brutality of these gangsters. The amount of times that I had to look away from the screen really speaks to how visual these murders and tortures were. But shock-value doesn’t speak for how good a film is. There should have been some allegiance created with these characters so that when they were shot or hung, I would feel sorrow for them. But, this film depicts the lives of these people as meaningless.
In terms of cinematography, I did think that it was well done. The opening sequence of men standing outside of a row of cars waiting for their bosses emphasizes the intricacy and expanse of the Yakuza crime ring.
One scene that really stood out to me is when Otomo enters a steam room where Murase is relaxing with his other gangster friends. The camera pans over to Murase and two others sitting in the corner and then back to Otomo who draws his gun. We see Otomo fire six shots, lower his weapon, and walk slowly out of the shower doors all in one take. It then reveals the result of his shooting: the men lying in the corner as the showers continue to run as normal. The framing of the shot is a great representation of good filmmaking, and one that I will remember.
Even though the ending is clever, and the cinematography is great, the film can’t be held together by these things alone. The plot just was not tight enough to allow for the audience to identify with and follow the life of even one character. In the end I just didn’t care that there was a new boss. To me it didn’t matter that Otomo is stabbed in prison and the Ikemoto family was wiped away from their turf. I believe the film is worth watching, and maybe someone will get a different perspective. But, ultimately I didn’t leave the cinema satisfied with the film.

Credits
Run time: 1 hr 49 min.
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Writer: Takeshi Kitano
Actors: Takeshi Kitano, Ryo Kase, Jun Kunimura, Kippei Shiina
Producers: Masayuki Mori, Takio Yoshida
Cinematography: Katsumi Yanagijima
Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality
Bandai Visual Company