REVIEW: DVD Release: Brother























Film: Brother
Release date: 4th October 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 109 mins
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Starring: Beat Takeshi, Omar Epps, Claude Maki, Masaya Kato, Ren Osugi
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Park Circus
Format: DVD
Country: USA/UK/Japan

Takeshi Kitano is a man who needs no introduction. The charismatic filmmaker, actor, painter, poet and presenter is revered in his native Japan, but has also received global recognition for his work in film, most notably for 2003’s Zatoichi. Brother, released in cinemas in 2000, was a deliberate attempt by Takeshi to bring his films to a wider, Western audience, and sees him covering familiar ground with its story of warring yakuza members.

Under the threat of assassination, a high ranking yakuza flees Japan under an assumed identity and joins his younger brother in America to start a new life. It’s not long before he begins to build a new crew, bringing the brutal methods of the Japanese yakuza to the streets of Los Angeles.

One by one, he mercilessly dispatches or assimilates his competitors on his new territory, and establishes himself as the head of a powerful new crime empire. It’s not long, however, before his merciless assent to power has repercussions very close to home in the form of reprisals from embittered rivals, and Yamamoto’s world begins to crumble around him…


This is undoubtedly Takeshi’s film, and his central performance as Yamamoto is captivating; cool, effortlessly slick, wry and brutal. Whether cheating at dice, shooting rival gang leaders in the knees, or slinking about the dark city streets in his immaculate suit, Takeshi oozes charisma in every scene. The film happily pivots around this magnetic performance, and Takeshi carries it easily. He is backed by some strong, solid work by the supporting cast, most notably Claude Maki as his younger brother Ken, and friend Denny played by Omar Epps.

The idea of a yakuza abroad building a new empire on American soil feels like a fresh new take on both the gangster and yakuza genres, and Takeshi should be congratulated for finding a new approach to this well-trodden ground. Much is made – both comedic and otherwise – of Yamamoto finding his way in unknown territory, and the use of dual languages (English and Japanese) is a clever tool which actively engages the audience in the culture clash happening onscreen.

Brother is all about style. The suits are flawless, the dialogue is snappy and dry, and the colour palette is dark and monochromic. It could be argued that there isn’t too much substance under all this – the story itself is very simple, and the relationships between the characters aren’t that more complex – but the film never pretends to be more than is. Takeshi’s direction style is typically functional and no-nonsense, often bordering on the static, but this is no bad thing, allowing the characters plenty of room to breathe. The city of Los Angeles, where the action takes place, is shot beautifully, and full credit must go to Katsumi Yanagijima’s cinematography for some extraordinary work. Things are paced slowly and patiently, and this suits the slowly unfurling story of Yamamoto’s growing empire perfectly. Also prevalent is Joe Hisaishi’s beautifully elegant and sorrowful score. This was Takeshi’s fifth film collaboration with the composer, and, by the results here, it is easy to see why.

Morally there are some issues. Brother is a film which arguably glamorises gang violence and lionises gangsters, but it’s all done with such taste and, crucially, a healthy sense of humour and sense of itself that it’s easy to forgive. The death count is high, and there are enough fingers being sliced off and gang brutality to please gore-fans, but overall the violence stays over-the-top and cartoon-like enough to keep things from becoming truly unpleasant. It’s a ratio which works well - Brother emerges as a thoroughly entertaining, satisfying experience which happily leaves no bitter aftertaste.

If there are any criticisms, it is a tendency towards sentimentality and melodrama towards the end, but it’s not too much to become cloying or spoil all the good brutal, stylish fun that’s gone before. There’s also an area of confusion in the middle where it’s not quite clear who’s being killed by who, in which gang and why, but, again, it’s not something which detracts from the film.


Brother is a hugely enjoyable, multi-cultural gangster epic which has been seen by some as a low point in Takeshi’s catalogue, but actually deserves far more recognition. Violent, morally questionable it may be, but it’s also sharp, stylish and wicked funny - and rooted by a captivating central performance by the man himself. LOZ



1 comment:

  1. Not surwe why some people see this as a low point. Maybe not as flashy as Zatoichi but I reckon it ranks alongside his other crime flicks. AND nobody commands a screen like takeshi

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