Nine men escape from a Japanese prison and decide to stick together to hunt down the fabled treasure they heard about from a crazy cellmate. Can an elderly man that ran his son over with a car, a porn king midget, a socially retarded teenager that killed his father and a motorcycle gang delinquent get along? I haven’t even mentioned the other five troublemakers.
The first thought as the film jumped to life was: “I am never going to be able to figure out who is how! I’m DOOMED!” Thankfully, Director Toshiaki Toyoda (Blue Springs) never hits a false note. Things begin with a bang of furious motion, but then everything slowly eases into a precise structure that offers every character a chance to have their own story told. The direction is showy enough to be considered energetic, yet I never felt that the style was casting a dark shadow over the character interaction and development.
The acting is solid from everyone on board (Even the midget gets his chance to shine) and that helps the viewer swallow a mid-way tonal shift that is shocking in its ball-out twist. I was easily lulled by the first half’s slightly goofy treasure with all of its slapstick trimmings. Then a climactic event comes out of nowhere and changes everything. The second half is when redemption (or lack therefore) catches up and the protagonists are forced to confront the pasts they left behind. The decisions you make are going to stick around no matter how hard you try to ignore them. With that in mind, all of the narratives threads are brought too their logical (if sometimes dramatically numbing) conclusions. Nothing is left to chance and we get get to witness the end of everyone’s journey. Even the ambiguous final minute is only ambiguous if you’re a dye in the wool optimist. It’s a sobering journey that leaves a slight depressing taste in your mouth, which is masked by the prevailing sense of hope that makes the film as memorable as it is.
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