An elderly man is buried up to his head in the snow-covered dirt. A group of younger men race a car around his head, narrowly missing him. Kawada Noboru (Hiroki Matsukata), their leader, demands the old man relinquish control of the speedboat racetrack as previously promised.
Buy Hokuriku Proxy War Blu-rayThus begins Hokuriku Proxy War, director Kinji Fukasaku’s final Yakuza film. According to film historian Akihiko Ito on one of this new Radiance Film Blu-ray’s many extras, the movie was at least partially responsible for the murder of a real-life Yakuza boss, which is why Fukasaku stopped making this type of movie.
Things only get crazier from there.
The elderly man eventually agrees to Noboru’s demands, but once released vows his revenge, thus igniting a war between clans. Noboru proves a capable fighter with a short temper and an explosive tendency towards violence. He’s also one to buck Yakuza codes in order to get what he wants. Over the course of the film, he’ll team up with various bosses, but easily turns on them whenever it suits his needs. Loyalties are easily forgotten for everyone as most of the bosses (one of whom is played by the always excellent Sonny Chiba) pay lip service to the codes and practices of the Yakuza but are willing to stab each other in the back at the drop of a hat.
I’ll be honest and admit I had a hard time following all the different alliances. I also never particularly cared about what happened to any of them. The film mostly follows Noboru, which makes him our protagonist. This makes me the most interested in his fate, but if the film had taken a turn and killed him halfway through, I’m not sure I would have minded.
What makes Hokuriku Proxy War worth the watching is its kinetic use of action. What I found especially interesting about the many action sequences is how unchoreographed they felt. Most cinematic action is structured like a dance with each person moving in predefined patterns. Here, the action is utter chaos. People move in every which way with no discernible pattern. It looks sloppy but also realistic. Real fights are sloppy and chaotic.
But the film is also not afraid of cliches or bits of ridiculousness. There is one scene in which a man is driving his boss around. He stops and announces he’s going to buy some cigarettes. You automatically know that while he’s out someone is gonna come kill the boss. In another scene, a car is blocked off by a backhoe, and then behind it comes a different tractor. They have a lot of fun smashing the car (full of enemies) to bits.
Shot on location, the snow-covered landscapes and seaside vistas give it a different feel than most of the more urban Yakuza films I’ve seen. The film’s many interesting action sequences elevate its rather confusing storyline and pedestrian drama. There is some romance and some emotional turmoil between characters, but much like the various alliances formed and unformed throughout the film, I never really cared about them.
Radiance Films has given Hokuriku Proxy War a beautiful new transfer and loaded it with extras.
They include:
- New interview with actress Yoko Takahashi (2024, 15 mins)
- New interview with screenwriter Koji Takada (2024, 19 mins)
- Yakuza film historian Akihiko Ito on the real-life Hokuriku Proxy War murder case (2024, 15 mins)
- Trailer
- Newly improved English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring newly translated archival writings on the film
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
If you are a fan of Japanese crime movies from this period, then Hokuriku Proxy War is well worth checking out.
