In this documentary by director Jean-Pierre Limosin (Tokyo Eyes), 20 year-old Naoki is caught up in the ever increasing problem of juvenile delinquency in Japan. His record is dismal; a failure at school, at work and in his personal life, Naoki has decided to turn to a life of petty crime in the yakuza.
Naoki’s mother, Mrs. Watanabe, is driven to despair and shame by his lifestyle. She is torn between immense feelings of shame towards the community – her own family, the neighbors, and her work colleagues – and the glimmer of hope that this last chance in the world of crime might just save her son. Naoki will have to choose between the light and the darkness…
Born in 1949 near Paris, Jean-Pierre Limosin meets at the end of the 70’s film critic for Cahiers du Cinéma Alain Bergala. They both manage a cultural centre photography and video workshop. In 1983 they direct together “Faux fuyants”, which premieres in Cannes’ Critics’ Week. At the beginning of the 90’s, after two other feture films, Limosin turns to television and documentary, taking part in the celebrated series “Cinéastes de notre temps” (Filmmakers of Our Time).
His travels to Japan inspired many of his latest productions. His brilliant “Tokyo Eyes” (1998) features filmmaker Takeshi Kitano in a small part.
I have to seriously question the authenticity of this "documentary". It's far too polished, too rehearsed, too perfect. Here we are in the thick of Yakuza activity, and not one single face is blurred. But then again, one must ask himself why on earth would someone make a faux-doc so excrutiatingly boring.
One doesn't have to be a film school graduate to know that some of the camera shots and sequences would be impossible without much planning and rehearsal. Also, if you're going to run away from the Yakuza and go in to hiding, pretty much betraying the most dangerous people in the country, it's probably not a great idea to continue to film with some foreign documentarist. Naoki is either stupid or fake.
while not as potent as a documentary about yakuza and what they do, Young Yakuza prevails in bringing the viewer into the fold, letting us see what we normally wouldn't; letting us behind the tough, exterior curtain to see people much like ourselves engaging in a very strict social hierarchy. i do feel, though, that this is a better picture for those already familiar, to some extent, with what the yakuza are.
An extremely fascinating insight indeed into the yakuza - especially from the point of view of the "boss". However, I cannot help but feel that I still do not know what exactly the yakuza do.
I saw this film in Cannes 2007 and also went to the party. The boss of Kumagai clan was invited there, who was in the film. My friend took me to talk to him, which normally Japanese never dare to… read review
