GRAVEYARD OF HONOUR

Graveyard of Honour (Shin Jingi No Hakaba)

JapanWhen a lone gunman walks into a Tokyo restaurant and begins gunning down the yakuza clientele, lowly dishwasher Rikuo Ishimatsu coolly walks through a hail of bullets and beats the assassin unconscious with a stool. So begins Ishimatsu's rapid ascent through the ranks of the underworld.

Based on a true story, this new offering by MIFF regular Miike Takashi (Audition, MIFF 2000; Gozu, MIFF 2003) follows the tragic course of Ishimatsu's doomed life. Although his aggressive nature and impenetrable cool work for him as a gangster enforcer, he is too much of a wild card for even the most dreaded yakuza to handle.

'Miike delivers another intense crime drama, which is at the same time a fascinating character study and a confronting social document. In its portrayal of one man's self-destruction, the film takes the violent core of the yakuza genre as far as it'll go, redefining its limits. This is not a movie to laugh or cheer at. It's brutal, it's raw and it's uncompromising, but it's also thoughtful, deeply emotional and rich in significance. Graveyard of Honour is further evidence of Miike's rare abilities as a filmmaker.' -Midnight Eye

Please note: contains scenes that may offend some viewers

D Miike Takashi P Maeda Shigeji, Yokoyama Kazuyuki S Takechi Shigenori WS Kadokawa Pictures, Inc. L Japanese w/English subtitles TD 35mm/Col/2002/131mins

Miike Takeshi was born in Osaka, Japan in 1960. Films include: Dead or Alive 2: Birds (MIFF 2002), One Missed Call (MIFF 2004).