BROTHER

SYNOPSIS:
After a gang war in Japan goes badly, Yamamoto (Takeshi Kitano) is forced to flee to the United States. In Los Angeles, he meets up with his half-brother Ken (Claude Maki). Ken is involved in low level drug dealing with Denny (Omar Epps), but Yamamoto’s no-nonsense style and ruthless tactics soon see the gang moving up the ranks of the LA underworld. After defeating a higher-level gang, the operation becomes much more sophisticated – and acquires some merciless new allies. But they’re still looked upon as upstarts by the local Mafiosi, much to Yamamoto’s chagrin. With his new found power, he’s determined to rectify the situation.

From early films like Sonatine through to Hana-bi, Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi) has virtually single-handedly redefined the yakuza crime film. He managed to elevate the genre from shlock to something approaching the intellectual complexity of Scorsese. His films have worked to a large degree because of their context in Japan’s highly structured and somewhat restrictive society. Now he moves to the US for Brother, and the transition isn’t all that comfortable. Takeshi retains his trademark style in which tension builds slowly, only to explode in a moment of violence and mayhem; but in the craziness of LA, his actions seem less those of the studied ronin (a master-less samurai) than those of just another street thug. After a tight start, Brother tends to lose shape in the middle stages as action overshadows story, before finishing with a brilliant ending. The film unfolds at a measured pace and requires the audience’s full attention. Like all Kitano’s films, there’s a lot going on here under the surface. In this case however, whether the film’s complexity works or not depends on how you react to the characters. There’s a strong fatalistic element to Yamamoto; a kind of resignation to doom that’s very Zen, but the character’s cool detachment fails to generate much empathy. In the central role, Kitano displays his wonderful deadpan style and dry humour to good effect, even if it is difficult to feel much for him. Omar Epps is much more animated as Denny. He turns in a fine performance; giving us someone to care about. While Brother doesn’t represent Kitano’s greatest work, it remains a cut above your average crime flick. It’s just that from this director, we have a right to expect more than he delivers here.
David Edwards