Yakuza movies are very macho, often mainly about male gangsters either meeting in board rooms or fighting each other in the street. The best Yakuza movies interrogate the codes of honour and loyalty that are merely lip service to the criminal drive to make money and grab power. Takashi Miike has a hundred plus movies to his filmography and a good chunk of them would be Yakuza flicks.
There’s something distinctive he adds, from style to the tone, and in Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002), the opening sequence hits you with a pulsating energy as the movie cuts between several scenes while we hear the acid rock of the Flowering Travel Band (their album Satori basically soundtracks the movie at key points). As a senior gang leader is assassinated by a younger, punk-styled footsoldier, Kunisada (Riki Takeuchi) sits in a police interrogation office, vibrating with rage. Turns out Kunisada is not just the assassinated gang leader’s lieutenant, he’s also his son, swearing revenge even as the rival gangs broker peace and repair order to get back to business as usual.
There’s a clear divide between the older Yakuza leaders meeting in rooms, offering each other gifts and packages, organising their underlings to kill, while the foot-soldiers congregate in houses or the streets. Even with Takeuchi sneering and glowering, preparing himself for war by dyeing his hair grey (as a tribute to his dad), the film is mostly a hang-out as Kunisada and his main offsider strut around, spending time with two Korean girls, receiving tips on what their next move should be, etc. There are sincere displays of loyalty amongst Kunisada’s crew, bits of bizarre comedy such as the interactions between the assassin duo responsible for the hit, and then escalations into over-the-top craziness such as Kunisada strutting around at night and using a rocket launcher to settle the score.
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka has a great balance of tones, a punchy running time, and a momentum that flows from the moderate budget, street locations and Takashi Miike flourishes, particularly whenever the psychedelic rock kicks in. It’s violent and sexual, but not as sledgehammer over-the-top, finding a malaise and a weird kind of weariness amongst the inevitable bloodshed. Streamed on SBS On Demand.
VHS Tracking 