paulyew-45125 Review of Yakuza and the Family

Yakuza and the Family (2020)

The movie wanders aimlessly, like the main character

[4/10 · 13 September 2021]

The movie is more about family than the Yakuza. The main character, Kenji, loses his father to drug overdose. He then became a part of the Shibasaki crime syndicate, his new family. He goes to jail, and upon release, realizes that he has a "traditional" family when he finds out that his lover had given birth to a girl during his time in prison. He loses that family, but then he exhibits some kind of fatherly connection to Tsubasa. That's the movie in a nut shell. I think the director tried to show how Kenji made decisions for what he thought was best for his family at the time, not necessarily what is best for himself. However, the "sacrifices" he make are just not convincing enough. The director fails to spend enough time to make Kenji's actions plausible to the audience. For example, I really don't see how most people can accept the "love" between Kenji and Yuka. Also, was there a point the director wanted to make about the Yakuza in this film? Does he want the to be more sympathetic to people who have chosen a life of crime if that person person shows a bit of contrition? Is he critical of society being too cruel to former Yakuza members? There's been way too many films about a kind-hearted gangster persecuted by society for this movie to stand out. Just like Kenji, the movie wanders aimlessly from one family to another, while never finding a true audience or home.