Big Time Gambling Boss

Kōsaku Yamashita's 1968 Japanese film is set within a gambling organisation in Tokyo in 1934. When the head falls ill the question of succession arises; the man offered the position refuses it and the vacancy widens. The film is not built on action. The narrative argues over codes of conduct, debt and loyalty; the violence comes late and saves no one when it does. The characters lose because they keep to their own rules. The studio was producing many films in this genre at the time, and this was counted among the most restrained; on release it was praised by a well-known writer. Koji Tsuruta leads. Who it's for: those who like Japanese yakuza cinema and works that stand apart within a genre. Who it's not for: viewers expecting fast fight sequences; the film is almost entirely talk.