Gonin
Encyclopedia
Gonin is a 1995
film
directed by Takashi Ishii
and starring Takeshi Kitano
, Kōichi Satō
, and Masahiro Motoki
. This was the first film Kitano starred in after his 1994 motorcycle accident
. The eye patch the character wears was because his right eye was still leaking fluids.
owner whose business, following the collapse of Japan
's "bubble economy", is slowly disintegrating, and who owes debts to local Yakuza
money he cannot possibly pay. His solution is to rob the gangsters, for which purpose he assembles a team consisting of other casualties of the economic downturn—including a hustler (Motoki) who frequents his club (and who, depending on how you interpret the film's opening credits, may or may not have stabbed him in the face), a down-on-his-luck ex-cop (Jinpachi Nezu), an unbalanced salaryman
(Naoto Takenaka), the extent of whose derangement is unclear until the film's most notorious and horrifying scene, and a Thai pimp (Kippei Shiina, in a strange, convincingly brain-damaged performance). The hastily-planned heist
goes off awkwardly, and the Yakuza start tracking down the conspirators, hiring a team of hitmen (Kitano and Kazuya Kimura) to take out the thieves.
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Takashi Ishii
Takashi Ishii
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He has directed several pinku eiga erotic films, but his most notable feature was the 1995 nihilistic crime thriller Gonin starring Takeshi Kitano.-Director: is a Japanese film director and screenwriter...
and starring Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
, Kōichi Satō
Koichi Sato
is a Japanese actor.He is the son of veteran Japanese actor Rentarō Mikuni.-Films:*The Last Chushingura *Nobody to watch over me * Shonen Merikensack * The Magic Hour * Smile Seiya no Kiseki...
, and Masahiro Motoki
Masahiro Motoki
Masahiro Motoki is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in Departures, which won the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film...
. This was the first film Kitano starred in after his 1994 motorcycle accident
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
. The eye patch the character wears was because his right eye was still leaking fluids.
Summary
Bandai (Sato) is a discoDisco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
owner whose business, following the collapse of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's "bubble economy", is slowly disintegrating, and who owes debts to local Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
money he cannot possibly pay. His solution is to rob the gangsters, for which purpose he assembles a team consisting of other casualties of the economic downturn—including a hustler (Motoki) who frequents his club (and who, depending on how you interpret the film's opening credits, may or may not have stabbed him in the face), a down-on-his-luck ex-cop (Jinpachi Nezu), an unbalanced salaryman
Salaryman
refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
(Naoto Takenaka), the extent of whose derangement is unclear until the film's most notorious and horrifying scene, and a Thai pimp (Kippei Shiina, in a strange, convincingly brain-damaged performance). The hastily-planned heist
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
goes off awkwardly, and the Yakuza start tracking down the conspirators, hiring a team of hitmen (Kitano and Kazuya Kimura) to take out the thieves.