After his brother is killed by yakuza for an unpaid loan taken on his behalf to finance films, Shinji takes a turn toward masochism to both assuage his guilt and save his own life. Literally and figuratively torturing himself by charging bar patrons and gangsters to land punches on his frail frame, he slowly works off his debt to his brother's killers one hit at a time.
Iranian-born writer/director Amir Naderi mourns the immanent loss of his beloved cinema through this modern parable set in Japan. From Kenji Mizoguchi to Akira Kurosawa, he pays homage to the Japanese masters through style and form as well as character and story. Reflective long takes, graphic violence, stylized black and white, and unconcealed metaphor pervade this call-to-action of a film, imploring audiences and filmmakers to support the claim that "True cinema is not built on money; true cinema is made of flesh and bones." It may be actors speaking in Japanese, but the words and voice you hear are distinctly Naderi's.
CAST & CREDITS
Directed by Amir Naderi and Amir Naderi
Amir Naderi has been among the most influential figures of New Iranian Cinema since the 1970s. He is the director of the classics The Runner (1985) and Water, Wind, Dust (1986). His 2005 film Sound Barrier won the Critics Prize at the Rome Film Festival, and his work has been the subject of museum retrospectives worldwide.
Producer
Eric Nyari, Engin Yenidunya, Regis Arnaud, Yuji Sadai, Shohreh Golparian
