Yasha aka Demon (Yasuo Furuhata, 1985)
"A hyena with a conscience is no longer a hyena. It becomes a cat"
Shuji (Ken Takakura) is a fisherman in a small town in the North of Japan. Shuji is a man with a past... a past which is soon to catch up with him. Cue dramatic music.
Keiko is new in town, and she opens a bar 'The Hotaru' (Firefly in Japanese). All the local fishermen start drinking there, and the bar is becoming a success, much to the anger of the fishermen's wives, who see the attractive Keiko as a threat. The threat does indeed come, but in the form of Yajima, a despicable drunken heroin-addicted gambler (played by Takeshi Kitano, no less!).
Yajima is heavily in debt to the Yakuza, and he begins to disrupt the lifestyles of the fishermen; most of them begin gambling heavily & some start to use heroin that Yajima is oh-so happy to supply. Eventually things come to a head, and Yajima & Shuji have a bust-up, which results in Shuji's secret being exposed: He is a former Yakuza member 'Yasha' (Demon in Japanese), who has a giant tattoo all over his body. With his secret finally exposed, Yahsa & his family become ostracized by the inhabitants of the town.
On the face of it, Yasha may be construed as a Yakuza drama, but it's much more straight melodrama. The pace is slow, the picture painted of the town is bleak, and through flashbacks, we learn more about the central characters' pasts, all set in Osaka. Ken Takakura is excellent in the lead role, and 'Beat' Takeshi conjures up a truly despicable character in Ajima.
126 minutes is a tad overlong, but the film never really drags as it sets the pace right from the start. Fans of Japanese cinema will probably enjoy it, but those looking for glorified Yakuza-themed blood & violence should steer well clear.
