MIFF NOTES: Ryuzo and his Seven Henchmen (2015, Dir. Takeshi Kitano)

The last time I saw Beat Takeshi's face it was plastered four storeys high, scowling over Shinjuku selling some expensive watch or other. It's been too long since I saw it.

It's here in Ryuzo and his Seven Henchmen, in front of the camera and behind it. In front, the scowl's still there, with Takeshi taking on his hardline enforcer mantel, this time as an old school police detective. Behind the camera, though, its all smiles as Takeshi treats us to a ribald, gangster flick, just with gangsters that are well past their prime.

That can't be said for Takeshi. Nobody can fault his vim here, at least in the film's opening tract. Ryuzo delivers this year's most hilarious first act, with the assembling of the old yakuza crew under the crotchety exuberance of Boss Ryuzo (Tatsuya Fuji) and facing up to their upstart pretenders. Takeshi and his cast deliver constant laughs. And farts.

The finale too, which combines hardcore violence with some fantastic sight gags is an absolute riot. It's well worth sticking around for if you find yourself clock-watching through the mid section, which tends towards the unfocussed.

Playful, irreverent, pensioner positive fun.

★★★

Trailer:

Ryuzo and his Seven Henchmen screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2015.