Smash Cut

French documentary filmmaker Yves Montmayeur likes his Asian cinema, judging from his previous works which include 2007’s The Angry Young Men of Korean Cinema and the 2005 profile of the great animator Hayao Miyazaki and his production company, Studio Ghibli, entitled Ghibli et le mystère Miyazaki.

Now he’s back with Yakuza Eiga, which promises to be “a history of yakuza cinema.” I’m a big fan of those tattooed, garishly-clothed, finger-chopping gangsters myself, so I hope I get a chance to check this one out (with English subtitles). There appear to be some interesting interviewees in the film, including ’70s-era Hollywood titans William Friedkin and Paul Schrader and Japan’s mega-talented Takeshi Kitano, who allegedly didn’t want any clips from his movies, such as the lyrical yakuza potboiler Sonatine, to be used in the doc because he thought their inclusion would suggest some actual gangster ties!

Visit the official Yakuza Eiga website and take a look at some of the film’s interview segments while you’re there.