| Kamikaze Taxi (1995) |
| Cast: Koji Yakusho: Kantake Kazumasa Tatsuya Takahashi:Tatsuo Reiko Katayama: Tama Mickey Curtis: Animaru Naito Taketoshi: Domon |
| Running time: 169 min. Directed by Masato Harada Scinario: Masato Harada Music: Masahiro Kawasaki Release date: April 29, 1995 |
| This is a a young, angry, combative movie about those endemicaly racist, sexist, and corrupt institutions, the yakuza and government. Disillusioned by the brutal murder of his girl friend, Tatsuo (Takahashi) turns against the mob to rip off a wealthy minister, but the heist goes wrong, and Tatsuo finds himself on the run -- his days numbered -- with only a Peruvian-Japanese taxi-driver and a young hooker to help him..... Time Out Film Guide (p.572) |
| Pymmik's comment In an interview, Yakusho says that he decided to appear in "Kamikaze Taxi" for two reasons: first that he had long wanted to work with Masato Harada, and secondly that he had become fascinated with Kantake, the hero of the film, who reminded him of the wind. Without any knowledge about Koji Yakusho, people might think that he is a real Japanese Peruvian, who has come to Japan to work as a taxi driver. To such an extent, Yakusho's acting in this film is really something: his emotionless looks and his faltering foreign manner of speaking Japanese are very attractive. One of the interesting points about this film is the process whereby the taxi driver's mysterious past becomes unrolled by the people he meets. Who could imagine that Kantake has actually come over to Japan intent on taking revenge on a certain influential politician? Everybody seems to agree that Yakusho's acting comes out best when Kantake confesses his cruel past in the Andess: what had happened to his father, then a physician but once a Kamikaze pilot in wartime Japan, during the guerillas' attack on his village. Yakusho's talk about his past stimulates viewers' imagination vividly and successfully. |
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| The DVD of Kamikaze Taxi with English subtitles is available.(Region 1 only) |
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