"Hard Romanticker" Japanese DVD Cover
Director: Su-Yeon Gu
Writer: Mitsunori Gu, Su-Yeon Gu
Cast: Shota Matsuda, Kento Nagayama, Atsuro Watabe, Shido Nakamura, Tokio Emotom, Kaname Endo, Sei Ashina, Yoko Maki, Dai Watanabe, Claude Makik, Keiko Awaji
Running Time: 109 min.
By HKfanatic
If there’s a ‘problem’ with the Yakuza genre these days, it’s that there are so many towering masterpieces in the genre it’s easy for some of the smaller films to go overlooked. One such effort is 2011’s “Hard Romanticker,” the most recent work from Su-yeon Gu, a filmmaker of Korean descent who was born in Japan.
Thankfully, the fine folks at Artsploitation Films have stepped in to give “Hard Romanticker” a North American release. And while it may not dethrone “Outrage” or “Graveyard of Honor” as perennial favorites in the genre, the movie is still worth a look for serious fans of the Yakuza movie.
A caveat: “Hard Romanticker” is not strictly a Yakuza film, per se, as our main character Gu is expressly trying to avoid any mob affiliations. But it does deal in the genre’s particulars: expect plenty of shady gangsters, violent thugs, and dog-eared cops. In the middle of it all is our bleach blonde delinquent Gu, played with an electric physicality by Shota Mutsuda (brother of “Nightmare Detective” Ryuhei Matsuda).
Gu is something of a street punk but he goes out of his way to avoid ruffling the feathers of local mobsters or drawing undue police attention. Gu’s main goal in life as a half Korean-half Japanese citizen living in a society that doesn’t have much room for outsiders? Survival. But as “Hard Romanticker” opens, he’s about to be pulled into a gangland conflict that he simply can’t avoid.
The film is a semi-autobiographical tale for writer/director Su-yeon. Emphasis on the ‘semi’ since Gu dishes out and receives more grievous bodily harm in the movie than any human being could likely live to tell about. There’s no doubt that a compelling crimeland story could be woven around the the plight of Korean immigrants living in Japan, but there’s not much social commentary to be had in “Hard Romanticker.”
Instead, Su-yeon seems more interested in pushing the limits of misogyny and violence that have long been associated with the Yakuza picture. This a grim world of glue-sniffing hoodlums and schoolgirls who prostitute themselves on the side. It doesn’t help “Hard Romanticker’s” case that it opens, inexplicably, with a scene from the middle of the movie before jumping back to the start – without informing the audience. Oftentimes it feels like “Hard Romanticker” tries to tell its relatively straightforward narrative in the most jumbled and confusing manner possible.
Thankfully, director Su-yeon has a reliable leading man in Shota Matsuda, who serves as an anchor for the plot’s chaos. The role of Gu doesn’t exactly call for a wide range of emotions, but Matsuda is excellent at conveying a nihilistic attitude and barely contained inner rage. Later in the film, director Su-yeon finds a more comfortable groove himself by the contrasting the rural Shimonoseki with the sleek and metropolitan Kokura, where Gu retreats to help run a nightclub. It’s also not hard to appreciate the fact that much of the violence in “Hard Romanticker” is captured in long, unbroken camera takes, in which actors are called on to perform a number of complex actions.
The film arrives on DVD from Artsploitation Films, a relatively new DVD imprint whose main goal is to spotlight international films with an edge. “Hard Romanticker” certainly fits the bill and they’ve done an excellent job of presenting the movie to North American audiences. The visual transfer is superb despite not being in hi-def and, perhaps best of all, the film comes packed with a detailed booklet. Inside, you’ll find two essays: one about “Hard Romanticker” itself and another that provides an overview of the Yakuza genre’s storied history. So whether or not you end up a big fan of “Hard Romanticker,” the booklet will steer you towards other movies like Kinji Fukasaku’s 1972 effort “Street Mobster” or “Battles Without Honor or Humanity.”
“Hard Romanticker” is a brutal, unflinching look at a part of Japanese society that most of its citizens probably wouldn’t like to think about. Even if the film doesn’t best Takeshi Kitano at his own game, it proves memorable and idiosyncratic in its own way, in large part due to Shota Matsuda’s platinum locks and thousand yard stare.
HKFanatic’s Rating: 7/10
I got through watching this one recently, and would concur with the review. There seems to be a certain nilhism to the output of Zainichi (Japanese born Korean) directors, with both ‘Hard Romanticker’ and Yang Il-Choi’s ‘Blood and Bones’ (ironically starring Takeshi Kitano, and also the semi-autobiographical tale of author Yang Seok-il’s life) filled with characters who have few redeeming qualities. Whenever it felt like Gu was going to show some compassion or righteousness (picking up the girl from the police station, beating up the would-be rapists), the qualities were quickly extinguished by the way he conducts himself in the following scenes. ‘Hard Romanticker’ kept my attention to the end, but I doubt it’s a movie I’d revisit.
One minor correction in your review, it’s not really a story of “Korean immigrants living in Japan.” Most Zainichi are now 3rd generation born in Japan, and trace their roots to when Korea was under Japanese rule, many immigrating after the end of World War II when Korea was initially divided. The perception of them being immigrants is largely due to Japan’s own prejudice (Zainichi’s still aren’t able to have a Japanese passport), and the phrase ‘Zainichi’ itself translates to a foreign resident staying in Japan.
There’s a documentary well worth checking out called ‘Dear Pyongyang’, directed by Yang Yong-hi, the daughter of a fiercely North Korean family who chronicles a few years in her families life. Initially moving to Japan to wait it out until Korea became united, it’s both insightful and heartbreaking. Strongly recommended!