Has anyone seen this excellent movie by Takeshi Kitano? I saw it the other day and really enjoyed it. It's a solid gangster film with plenty of Yakuza finger chopping, and violent shoot outs for those who like a bit of gore. Kitano puts in a laid-back performance punctuated by crazy outbusts of agression.
(I doubt I've said anything in this piece that could justify a spoiler warning, but hey, I'll throw one in for good measure...)
I think what's interesting in the film is the levels of meaning attached to the word brother, even down to the fact that Kitano's character is familiarly called Aniki, which means "Big Brother" in Japanese (I think in the sense of Older Brother). It's very much a male film, about how men create bonds of love and friendship through the feudal/tribal/gang structure.
I loved Denny's (played by Omar Epps) growing friendship with Aniki, and it seems that the fact they inflicted wounds on each other somehow brings them together - "blood brothers".
It's a very enjoyable film, and certainly a cut above the normal dross that's out there at the moment.
It makes me wonder about men's attitudes to violence, and how it is often portrayed as a force which binds them together - an old theme in literature and cinema.
I know that friendships created under extreme conditions are very binding, and it also gives you an ability to judge people based on their actions as well as their words. There is also a realness to physical action, pain, etc., best exemplified recently in Fight Club.
I'm not going to suggest this is the only way that men form strong friendships, but do you think that there is a strong inclination in men towards gangs and other quasi-tribal structures that help give them some position/place in today's society? It appears partly societal, but are there other factors? |
