Yakuza and the Family (2021)

Deglamorizing criminal life

Plot
We follow the life of Yamamoto Kenji – young rebel whose life changes drastically when he meets the boss of Shibazaki-gumi and becomes a part of the yakuza family.
While the movie ticks off the fundamental elements and themes of yakuza movies, such as honour, family, crime, revenge, it doesn't shy away from showing the ugly truth about the often glamorized yakuza's life. We get to see the struggles that gang members have to face when trying to adapt to the changing times and the consequences of being a questionable part of the society. The passing years bring an inevitable reality check and the movie rises the question of what is a true family and if it's possible to escape from your past.

Acting
Ayano Go gives a solid performance and so does every actor who comes on screen. We get to observe raw emotion, people engulfed in rage or torn by remorse and despair, but also silent gestures, reactions that seem so real and so human.

Cinematography
The camera work grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The movements in chase and more violent scenes are more dynamic, the camera does not just simply follow, there are pans and tilts, it slows down or speeds up when needed. There are many really beautiful shots in this movie and the good use of lighting and colours creates certain moods and adds to the atmosphere.

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"They are my family, no reason is needed"

Yakuza and the Family aka A Family showed the changing world of the yakuza in three acts through the eyes of Yamamoto Kenji. A fatherless child lashing out at the world, he found a place to be with Shibasaki’s yakuza family. He was to learn that a family born of violence would teach him the meaning of suffering and loss.

Yamamoto Kenji spirals out of control after the death of his father that was drug related. His subsequent actions lead him to the door of his own demise when a slip of paper offers him a chance at survival and a new home. Shibasaki gifts him a new father and a place to belong. As the world changes so does Kenji’s fate.

When the film started, we’re watching the classic, cool guys, sunglasses at night yakuza with their pomp and circumstance. As Kenji moved up the ranks he walked openly down the middle of the street and straightened out problems with his fists. Even then, change was in the wings as their turf was scheduled for new development and the police and government were looking to sweep the yakuza away. A further jump in time and the traditional yakuza families were dying from attrition as society had deemed them unworthy. Leaving the yakuza offered no comfort as the men were faced with societal and economic ostracism. Where once Kenji had a found family, now any ties he had were unraveling.

The film was cyclical in its familial, especially fatherly, interactions. As father figures came and went, new ones took their places. Kenji went from having a drug addicted father to a criminal replacement. The viewer had to fill in the shortcuts implying Shibasaki’s paternal feelings for Kenji and vice versa. Violent, loyal men were now Kenji’s family and role models. I’m not sure if it was the director’s goal but it ended up feeling like a nostalgic and sentimental retrospect of the criminal organizations using the family motif.

Kenji’s utter lack of polite social skills became more apparent as he attempted to find a girlfriend. “Get in the car!” is not exactly the line most women are hoping to hear from a potential suitor. The romance was the real weak point in this film and I found it incredibly difficult to buy into. Kenji was capable of showing emotions, but often when he did, the audience was left out of their true depth. His first loss as a yakuza, one he grieved and whose death turned his life upside down, was a character who had few lines. Again, the audience was required to do the writer’s work.

A Family wasn’t just one unit, it was a dysfunctional extended family entangled with other families and loved ones spanning generations. Kenji’s made family was complicated and fraught with danger and slowly disappearing. He fought for them, suffered for them, and even killed for them, only on rare occasions allowing himself to show the personal costs to himself. Kenji might have secretly wished for a normal existence, but a yakuza’s path rarely proceeded peacefully as he discovered. All he could do was what seemed right though it might not be right, to avenge or help the people he cared about despite the price he would have to pay. I’m not sure if it was the director’s goal but it ended up feeling like a nostalgic and sentimental retrospect of the criminal organizations.

3 May 2026
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, smoking, bare butts.

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