Yakuza and the Family

Over a twenty year stretch, "A Family" follows the life of a young man who is taken in by a Yakuza Boss. They develop a deep father-son bond as the world around them changes and closes in on them. Does a person's past necessarily limit one's future? Is it possible to start again? "A Family" investigates these questions. Let's just say this Japanese film does not come with a Hollywood ending.

It's fantastic but if you are expecting a action movie you are knocking on the wrong door, This movie is more about human fragility. It shows you the thin line between success and failure, reminding you change is everlasting while our past is haunting.

It's a fantastic but very depressing movie esp near the end it gets really really dark and sad. This is a drama about a Yakuza family and a story telling the end of the Yakuza. Don't expect a gangster story, a rags to riches action movie etc. The one part I'd criticise is the romance subplot which was done pretty poorly and sorta rushed..

The storyline of the film is really touching. The pacing is super slow but with wonderful directing, every changes in the main character was brought out and that makes create so much sympathy in the audience. Another good point is that the film successfully cover all part of a yakuza's life, his work, his past, his descendents and most importantly his craving for a normal, simple life with the ones he loves. All these stories are brought to life through a can-not-be-better production of photography. The camera angles are creative and full of purpose, the scenes are beautiful and the movements/pacing are just right where it should be. The cast, especially Hayato Isomura, brought up one amazing and very emotional performance. This is a very hard role to play and he nailed it perfectly, with all the changes simply showed through his eyes and smile. Some might say that the ending is too tragic but I believe it makes the best sense since what they want to deliver is that a yakuza life at this point is stuck and Lil Ken did the only thing he could do which is to give the lights of hope to the next generation so that Tsubasa won't fall into his inescapable life. And that complete beautifully his journey of transformation throughout the film. Not the way to end the film that we all look for but the most honest and complete way to do it! In overall, I highly recommend you watching this movie. I came to it on a lazy night looking for a non-sense yakuza action films and end up dropping tears from a wonderful art film. Simply beautìul!

Even though it's only 2h 16m long but it feels very slow, but it's very worth it to watch I don't want to give any spoilers but the ending was a bomb. I can feel the family-ness of the yakuza, the acting and dialogue were amazing, it delivers all the emotion. You can see the progression of every character. Very good movie. Highly recommended.

Well written, acted, and directed. It's slow but the characters and story kept me interested throughout. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. This movie deserves a higher rating. The way it all wrapped up was harsh but perfect. Give this one a watch!

Solid portrayal of Yakuza life that quickly drew us into Kenji Yamamoto's character. Michihito Fujii brought modern perspective through cliché-ridden gangster crime and family drama. Ayano left huge impact with such emotional performance mostly in second half.