Director- Fukasaku Kinji.This is the fourth film I have seen of his.This is the second part of the Yakuza Papers series of Fukasaku. Watching the first part set high expectations for me, but the second film didn't disappoint. It isn't a direct continuation of part one and hence we don't see our protagonist take revenge on the people he declared on at the end of part one. It would have been more satisfactory to get that sequence though we got some other good sequences instead.It still has its documentary sort of narration with character names given with stills. The time skip aspect is utilized in the same way in this film as well. The protagonist of the first film is a side character in this one. We do get some good sequences of his in the film though. Unlike the previous film which focused more on the rise of Hirono after he falls for the schemes of the yakuza and his stay there, we see the rise and fall of the Yamanaka in this one. Yamanaka has a quick rise and a slow fall. His love interest, Yasuko is played by the actress who starred as the lead in Lady Snowblood. She acts unknowingly as a blinding tool for him regarding the situations he is getting himself into. The love story angle isn't fleshed out much and is used more as a plot device.I didn't know Chiba Sonny played the antagonist till the end because of his stylish look and goggles. He played the role of a loose cannon quite convincingly.The second part focuses on less major characters and thus we get better-developed ones. The film's runtime allows us more breathing room too which makes the events pack a better punch as it allows it time to sink in.Hiroshima is set up for the events to occur quite well. The film shows us how nothing changes as we see the condition of the organized yakuza front after ten years. The ending part reminded me of Pigs and Battleships of Imamura Shohei due to how the protagonist is gunned down due to love and how his comrades didn't come to his aid. The youngster trying to prove himself and take the blame for his superior's work reminded me of Imamura's work as well. The ending is gut-wrenching due to the acting prowess of both the protagonist and his love interest.This film takes the battle without honor and humanity to a new degree with how the antagonist is shown to brutally kill people. There's no honor amongst them leading to inter-gang conflict to get way out of hand because of the loose cannon nature of the antagonist.The brutality is shot more voyeuristically and stylistically in this part much like a samurai film.Over all, it is another great part of the series and it makes me excited to watch the next part soon.
Director- Fukasaku Kinji.This is the fourth film I have seen of his.This is the second part of the Yakuza Papers series of Fukasaku. Watching the first part set high expectations for me, but the second film didn't disappoint. It isn't a direct continuation of part one and hence we don't see our protagonist take revenge on the people he declared on at the end of part one. It would have been more satisfactory to get that sequence though we got some other good sequences instead.It still has its documentary sort of narration with character names given with stills. The time skip aspect is utilized in the same way in this film as well. The protagonist of the first film is a side character in this one. We do get some good sequences of his in the film though. Unlike the previous film which focused more on the rise of Hirono after he falls for the schemes of the yakuza and his stay there, we see the rise and fall of the Yamanaka in this one. Yamanaka has a quick rise and a slow fall. His love interest, Yasuko is played by the actress who starred as the lead in Lady Snowblood. She acts unknowingly as a blinding tool for him regarding the situations he is getting himself into. The love story angle isn't fleshed out much and is used more as a plot device.I didn't know Chiba Sonny played the antagonist till the end because of his stylish look and goggles. He played the role of a loose cannon quite convincingly.The second part focuses on less major characters and thus we get better-developed ones. The film's runtime allows us more breathing room too which makes the events pack a better punch as it allows it time to sink in.Hiroshima is set up for the events to occur quite well. The film shows us how nothing changes as we see the condition of the organized yakuza front after ten years. The ending part reminded me of Pigs and Battleships of Imamura Shohei due to how the protagonist is gunned down due to love and how his comrades didn't come to his aid. The youngster trying to prove himself and take the blame for his superior's work reminded me of Imamura's work as well. The ending is gut-wrenching due to the acting prowess of both the protagonist and his love interest.This film takes the battle without honor and humanity to a new degree with how the antagonist is shown to brutally kill people. There's no honor amongst them leading to inter-gang conflict to get way out of hand because of the loose cannon nature of the antagonist.The brutality is shot more voyeuristically and stylistically in this part much like a samurai film.Over all, it is another great part of the series and it makes me excited to watch the next part soon.
