Gonin [DVD] [1995]

In Gonin, aka the Five, nothing is quite what it seems. The message seems to be - who deserves one’s loyalty? How can you judge?

Briefly, the plot revolves around the robbery of a Yakuza gang by an unlikely group of five men, and the aftermath. However a few words about some of the main characters may prove more informative on why this film is so special.

The “little man” in the regular suit, who used to be in a secure ordinary job until laid off after 20 years’ faithful, unremarkable service, turns out to be the most aggressive and uncontrolled of the group. He is currently living a lie, pretending each day to commute to work so as not to fail his family. It takes an apparently minor incident to set him on a dangerous, unknown path, but this was the last straw after his humiliation at work. Yet he remains impotent even as he expresses his rage in the fight that he picks - he is easily the loser and spends the rest of the film with a badly injured jaw. When his fists have failed him he resorts to a pathetic cry “I’ll sue you” - but we know that he won’t. He is looking for a life raft to cling on to.

Bandai, the night club owner and central character, appears on the surface to have it all - flash car, flash club, sharp suits - yet he is in the most serious danger and his empire will not survive without him.

The starkest example of “what you see is not what you get” comes in the shape of the mascared killer Mitsuyu, his pale feminised make up and wig masking his real self. He lurks in the night club, flick knife always at the ready. Yet he proves to be the most sensitive of the group in his shared love (sexual, brotherly - this is ambiguous) with Bandai.

Hizu, the cold, analytical corrupt ex-cop is a hard nosed survivor. He barely emotes. “Finger off the trigger” he orders the excitable salary man.

Family life offers no promise of security either. This film offers a neat twist to the Hollywood “love conquers all” cliché; the strongest romantic bonds lead only to torment.

Those that should be able to trust each other cannot, while the strongest bond of the five “gonin” emerges between those who should have every reason to hate each other. Perhaps one’s enemy is the only reliable one, as you know him best in his true colours. And as we see once Takeshi Kitano’s figure is introduced late in the film, we are more similar to our enemies than we expect, if we are all pawns subject to the same forces and fears.

Gonin is an unusual film in many ways. Unlike many gangster films, we get a sense of the contemporary Japan with its years of economic decline. And stylistically, the film is a real winner. Dream sequences and slow-motion are handled confidently and appropriately without in any way distracting from credibility. Colour and sound are used intelligently. Harsh, bleached out lighting evokes a sense of nightmare and strangeness. Nothing is clear, whether lit in extreme bright light, or under cover of mist as at the dockside scenes. At times the film reminded me, of all things, of the Shining - its sense of despair and fear among vast empty rooms. For example, you would expect the nightclub to be a hive of activity thronging with life, but we frequently see the cavernous corridors and stairwells where Bandai walks alone. In the club rooms, the electro pop bounces sharply off the walls, building an air of tension.

I heartily recommend this film. There are so many imaginative touches; only a desire not to give too much away prevents me from adding more praise. Buy it and enjoy many times.

If you're a Westerner a major reason for watching this film is probably the acting presence of cult actor/director Kitano, the coolest man in Japan, and maybe the world, and star of a string of brilliant genre-based movies, such as Sonatine and Violent Cop. Although arriving late in the film, Kitano does not disappoint. Look out for the shoot-out in the middle of a downpour, where Kitano manages to hold an umbrella aloft with one hand while gunning down everyone in sight with the other. Clearly a man who cares about his tailoring.

As they might say at Amazon, if you liked Sonatine and Violent Cop you'll be sure to like Gonin.