YAKUZA GRAVEYARD (1976) ***
Kinji Fukasaku was a prolific director. In his illustrious career, he directed nearly seventy films, spanning several different genres. Recently, I find I just can’t get enough of his yakuza films. The theme of honor and loyalty among thieves runs throughout these movies. And of the ones I’ve seen so far, Yakuza Graveyard is my favorite.
The film almost acts as a reversal of Fukasaku’s Graveyard of Honor. (It even features many of the same cast members.) But instead of playing up the docudrama aspects of that film, Fukasaku goes out of his way to say no one should confuse the characters for actual people. The other major difference is that star Tetsuya Watari is playing a cop, not a yakuza.
And Watari is excellent as the detective who refuses to play by the rules to bust the yakuza. He quickly realizes though that the yakuza have more honor than the crooked cops on the force. And while the line between cop and crook blurs, he develops a poignant love affair with a yakuza boss’ wife (Meiko Kaji, from Lady Snowblood).
Yakuza Graveyard is full of violent confrontations and complicated relationships. Watari is pretty awesome in this and is terrific at showcasing his character’s various shades of gray. It’s an interesting character study as well as an absorbing yakuza flick. Another interesting aspect to the film is that the cops are seen as the real villains and the yakuza (for the most part) are painted as sympathetic, multi-dimensioned characters. Although it doesn’t always click (there are some lulls in the drama here and there), Yakuza Graveyard is still quite a compelling piece of filmmaking.
AKA: Yakuza Graveyard: Jasmine Flower.