American yakuza

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Movie
German title American Yakuza, also Bloodbrother II - Champ versus Champ
Original title American yakuza
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1993
length 90 (PAL-DVD) minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Frank A. Cappello
script John Allen Nelson , Max Strom
production Michael Leahy , Aki Komine
music David C. Williams
camera Richard Clabaugh
cut Sonny Baskin
occupation

American Yakuza is a film by the director Frank A. Cappello and tells of the assignment of FBI agent David Brandt (Viggo Mortensen) to smuggle undercover into the American Yakuza syndicate in order to finally smash this organization, which is trying to gain a foothold in southern California . To this end, he will be released pro forma from prison after assuming the identity of a prisoner named Nick Davis who died after a year in solitary confinement .

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David Brandt is placed under the name Nick Davis from the employment office as a forklift driver in the port of San Pedro, which is controlled by the Japanese gang. On the second working day, he saves the life of the local gang boss Shuji Sawamoto (Ryo Ishabashi) in an attack by the local Italian mafia . He takes the unconscious man to his shabby hotel room, which he has initially booked for a week, and organizes a medical student to remove the Japanese man's bullet. He asks $ 200 or, since Nick doesn't have the money, a conspicuous 18-carat ring to replace it, otherwise he'll call the police . Nick does not want to give up the ring at first because it is memorable, but threatens the other if he calls "the cops". Finally he gives him the ring. He waits patiently for Sawamoto to regain consciousness. This perks up for a short time and mumbles a phone number that Nick calls. To be on the safe side, he hides in a bar across from the hotel and, sitting at a window table, unnoticed, watches as members of the Tendo family pick up their boss.

Since David / Nick won the leader's trust through this action, the grateful Shuji Sawamoto (or "Shu" as Nick is allowed to call him) takes him under his wing. He also gets his ring back through this, and Shuji even takes it to the family's nightclub .

When Nick meets his FBI partner Sam (Franklyn Ajaye), he tells him that he has managed to penetrate deep into the yakuza. He should give him time, he was well on his way, they hadn't taught them that in the academy, he had to be careful. He finds out that his new yakuza boss has sent someone to follow him. Angrily, he confronts Shuji that he finally hired him and that if he doesn't trust him, he should throw him out. He doesn't need to be followed everywhere with a sword by some madman.

Kazuo (Yuji Okumoto), a kind of lieutenant and close associate of Shuji, hates Nick at first and distrusts him until Nick finally proves his reliability by saving Kazuo's life. A gun deal goes wrong, and Nick even emphasizes the role that Kazuo played in it afterwards. Nick shot down three FBI agents in the ambush, proving his credibility.

The more he has to do with the world of the yakuza, the more the single FBI agent loses sight of his original goal. The fascination with the cohesion of the “family”, the loyalty until death exerts more and more an irresistible attraction for the loner who grew up in broken family relationships as a child of alcoholics. The deeper he penetrates the organization and becomes familiar with its rules, the more he becomes reluctant to betray his new friends to the public prosecutor . Finally he finds himself between the fronts, especially since he feels more and more abandoned and betrayed by his own colleagues.

Nick is given a large, beautiful apartment by Sawamoto and is visited by the beautiful Yuko (Christina Lawson). She was supposed to fill the apartment with life on behalf of Sawamoto-san, who was her godfather, and was primarily an interior designer .

Just as they are preparing to get closer, Kazuo comes to pick up Nick without telling him why he has to come to Sawamoto immediately.

He is accepted into the family, an honor never before shown to an outsider . The two men, Shuji and Nick, exchange a long look as they take their oath to each other and the family and accept each other as conspiratorial brothers to the death. During the ceremony itself, Kazuo acts as a translator of Tendo's words for Nick and explains to him what will be said during the ceremony and what Nick has to do. Tendo is the top boss of the family who is temporarily present in America.

Meanwhile, there is a secret meeting between Nick's superior Littman (Robert Forster) at the FBI and members of the Italian Mafia.

Yuko is waiting for Nick at home, and that same night she becomes his lover.

Littman lets Sam give Nick a plane ticket to Hawaii so that he is out of the line of fire of Dino Campanela (Michael Nouri) and his people, because his cover is so good that he is at the top of their Yakuza hit list stand Nick picks it up and drives off in the car. His girlfriend is waiting for him at home and is killed by the Italians in front of him. He now drives quickly to Shuji's villa, where he meets the friend who has just arrived. You find a terrible slaughter. Nick confesses who he really is in Japanese.

When the local Italian mafia wants to take out Japanese competition once and for all and a shootout begins at Tendo's nightclub, Nick sided with his friend Shu. In the course of the clashes, he saves Shu's friend Aya (Saiko Isshiki), who is the club's manager, from the attackers. Shuji, fatally wounded by Campanela, saves Nick / David with the last of his strength from Campanela and dies in David's arms. He also asks what Nick is really called, says that Nick is more beautiful and his last words are that they would clarify "that" in the next life. When the FBI arrives, Nick carries the dead Japanese down the stairs to meet his colleague Sam.

Reviews

"A technically experienced, if a bit bumpy staged action film, which, in addition to the usual brutalities, demonstrates very questionable moral concepts."

- Lexicon of International Films

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