Brother

Synopsis: Aniki (Takeshi Kitano) is a Japanese gangster and member of the infamous yakuza. A turf war erupts between rival Tokyo gangs and Aniki finds himself on the hit list after his boss is eliminated. He flees to the United States and re-acquaints himself with wayward half-brother, Ken (Claude Maki), now a small-time drug dealer. Aniki quickly finds himself back in the criminal groove, taking over Ken's operation and be-friending Denny (Omar Epps) who becomes his right hand man.

Takeshi "Beat" Kitano has been producing highly-debated feature films for nearly a decade. His movies, with the exception of Kikujiro, have been moody character studies that blur the lines between good and evil, possessing a contemplative quality that generally offset the violent acts on screen. Brother, his first English language film, is no exception.

In this film, Kitano continues to explore the intense, measured and increasingly chaotic landscape of crime. Aniki is a man resolved to his duty, and, ultimately thereby to his own demise. Despite the film's high body count, Kitano diffuses the introspective, indeed claustrophobic, deadly yakuza melting pot with moments of humour and unlikely interaction (a friendly basketball match is a standout), to achieve an occasionally humane, remorseful clarity. At once a homage to the hard-boiled western and gangster flicks, Brother is a tour de force, combining Kitano's renowned visceral and visual flair to deliver a violent, fascinating character study of the criminal world.

 

 

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