Following the excellent “Ken and Kazu”, Hiroshi Shuji did not shoot another feature until this year, focusing on TV. His theme of the low level yakuza is here once more, however, in another excellent effort.
Tatsumi is screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
While the stealing of a seemingly small amount of drugs has put a number of low level yakuza on edge, with Goto in particular attacking people left and right, Tatsumi, a corpse cleaner, finds himself overly busy. Furthermore, he discovers that his ex-girlfriend, Kiyoko, is now with a guy who runs a car repair shop, and seems to also be involved in the case. Even worse, her sister, Aoi, a true mad dog who always lashes out and spits on men, is eventually revealed to have something to do with the theft. As his ‘colleagues’ and particularly two rather violent brothers, have their sight on the repair shop, tragedy does not take long to happen, and Tatsumi finds himself having to keep Aoi from being murdered, while she is on a path set on revenge.
Hiroshi Shoji presents a truly gritty film and a world made up from ultra violent, occasionally paranoid but always hopeless losers, in a rather pointed comment about the lives of low-leveled yakuza. In such a setting, life seems to have no meaning at all, with people getting killed left and right with the smallest excuse, in an element that also adds to the tension the movie emits.
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In such an environment, Aoi, who tries to survive by being like the rest herself, seems much more logical than Kiyoko, whose decentness is what eventually seals her fate. As such, the combination of violence and drama, not to mention the constant sweating of the protagonists, form the main axis of the narrative, with both being rather impactful, carrying the movie from beginning to end.
It is easy to say that the whole aforementioned approach shares many similarities with the worlds Kim Ki-duk created in films like “Pieta”, with one very significant exception. Hiroshi Shoji actually allows a ray of hope to appear in his story, as the interactions between Tatsumi and Aoi change them both significantly for the better. And if the latter is mostly a victim of her circumstances, the same does not apply to the former, who is where he is on his own will, which essentially makes his transformation even more impactful.
The acting is another of the best traits here. Yuya Endo as Tatsumi is impressive throughout, particularly in the way he manages to appear as both a part of his environment and someone who stands out from the rest of the yakuza. Kokoro Morita as Aoi steals the show frequently with her raw attitude, while her transformation is excellently handled. The interactions between the two showcase their excellent chemistry. Tomoyuki Kuramoto as the paranoid yakuza Ryuji is also impressive.
Shuhei Yamamoto’s cinematography captures the violence in the most realistic fashion, with no punches pulled, in an approach that adds to the overall aesthetics here. At the same time though, the orange-dominated colors do become a bit tiring after a point, with the film definitely deserving a better job in that department. Tatsuma Furukawa and Shoji’s own editing results in a very fitting, slower than usual for the style of the movie pace, that is essentially part of the atmosphere.
Granted, there are some points where the narrative becomes far-fetched and repetitive, but this is just a minor fault, as “Tatsumi” is gritty, tense, brutally realistic and an overall great film.
