Synopsis:
In the Japanese action-comedy film Broken Rage, which has a scheduled release date in 2024, the renowned filmmaker Takeshi Kitano takes the helm as the writer, director, and protagonist of the film. Known for his unique blend of violent crime dramas and deadpan humor, Kitano returns with a film that serves both as a culmination of his career and reflection on it—his final directorial work, as he claims. Broken Rage is unique in its execution, consisting of two halves that tell the same story, except with radically different approaches.
Nezumi, the main character of the film, is an old hitman who is just coming to terms with the fact that he has been caught by the police after a lifetime of crime. Instead of accepting the long prison sentence awaiting him, he is offered a deal: he must go undercover and dismantle a highly organized drug trafficking ring run by the yakuza. Nezumi reluctantly agrees, not out of duty or remorse, but rather self-preservation and bitter acceptance of the absurdity of his existence.
The initial segment of Broken Rage presents itself as a rough, crime-centric drama revolving around specific characters. Nezumi’s journey is going to take him into the depths of the underworld, where he will have to face both vicious criminals as well as the abstract ramifications of a life spent in violence. He forms a delicate bond with the officers who have jurisdiction over his case, especially Inoue, a police officer and a buttoned-up detective who rather idealistically thinks that Nezumi could be redeemed with some effort, and Fukuda, the other detective, has a much more cynical and pessimistic outlook more similar to Nezumi’s.
Violence also accompanies Nezumi’s rise in rank within the yakuza syndicate. The storyline develops in a suffocating atmosphere, characteristic of Kitano’s older films like Sonatine or Hana-bi. Spontaneous, visceral violence occurs, and quiet hovers over the dialogue-filled scenes like mist. The pacing is slow, forcing attention on the solitude, sorrow, and anger that dominate Nezumi’s character.
To wrap the movie up in an imaginative yet ambiguous bow, the latter part of the film repeats the same events, but this time in a chaotic and cartoonish style for a slapstick comedy. The characters are unchanged, and neither is the mission, yet everything is laughable absurd. Nezumi’s blunders are turned into hilarious pratfalls, the yakuza members are buffoonish didactics, and the police are exaggerated automatons who are deeply entrenched in endless office work and misfortune.
This approach is not solely as a style change, but also as a theme change. Kitano juxtaposes the elements of a story to highlight the duality of existence – the comedy and the tragedy. While the first half of Broken Rage focuses on perpetuating despair and existential elation, emphasizing on fulfillment of life, the second farcically mocks the events happening in the first half by, perhaps, suggesting emphasizing life may be the biggest joke out there.
Nezumi Sets Out to Complain:
Cast & Characters:
Takeshi Kitano as Nezumi: With Kitano both taking up the role of the film’s protagonist and its director ne delivers a blended performance of seriousness and humor he has mastered in his other films. Nezumi becomes the character Kitano paints through the lens of a ceaseless sense of mortality with regret outpouring and contemplating life with its tragedies while existing in a grin laden unhinged world.
Tadanobu Asano as Detective Inoue: Asano interprets a stern, idealistic cop Inoue in the first half with restraint and exaggerated sincerity in the second, manifesting the film’s tonal shift.
Nao Ōmori as Detective Fukuda: He is a world-weary detective whose skepticism and sarcasm act as an astringent counterbalance to Inoue’s earnestness. Fukuda transforms into a detached, sarcastic comic foil during the comedic half.
Shidō Nakamura as Yakuza Boss: Cold crime lord in the drama half. In the comedy half, he acts as an over-the-top, petulant, and melodramatic gangster with ludicrous schemes.
Hakuryu as Yakuza Enforcer: Stereotypical henchmen are dull and intimidating, but he performs the role with an exaggerated twist turn to comedic hired help.
Direction & Cinematography:
Steady hand has always characterized Kitano’s direction and even in Broken Rage, we can see his trademark style—static shots, long pauses, natural lighting, and minimalist visuals. The first half is colored with a deep, lifeless, desaturated tone evoking melancholy. In the second half, there are exaggerated colors, abundant lively music, and chaotic editing. This mess of aesthetics serves as a reminder of the film’s counterbalance between somber, realistic tones and surreal comedy.
Editing the movie by himself was a bold choice by Kitano that supports his unique connection to it. His intricate silence, fragmented pauses, and vague but harsh shifts in the tone capture his unique vision of filmmaking, and in Broken Rage, he heightens those attributes.
Themes:
Duality’s existence not only as a story telling device but as part of one’s being is the central theme of the film or, as the title puts it, Broken Rage. It demonstrates the gap within a single moment being interpreted with conflicting measures of emotions. That is what the title captures. ‘Broken’ stands for amount of damage while ‘rage’ standing for aggression, strong emotions, or uncontrollable feelings. Combined, it eloquently portrays the constant battle between anger and absurdity.
Another main theme is introspection alongside the ramifications, or impact, of one’s life actions. As for Nezumi’s character, he undeniably feels like Kitano’s stand in while he was living through silence, violence, and fame and reflecting back on his life, doing so with pride, overwhelming regret and humor. The metanarrative – reinterpreting the same story with a different tone – could stand as Kitano’s way of dealing with his obsession, or past works.
The film analyzes aging and its connection to irrelevance. Nezumi is often overlooked because of his age, which reflects how people tend to disregard older folks. But, it is the decades of experience and insights that aid in the story progression. Perhaps Kitano is commenting on his own career — as an aging filmmaker who still has the audacity to reinvent himself.
Reception and Critical Response:
Broken Rage debuted at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, where it was shown out of competition. Critically, it received a mixed reception. Some hailed it as a genre-defying swan song from one of Japan’s most iconic auteurs, while others were taken aback by the drastic tonal shift midway through the film.
Supporters praised the originality, the willingness to self-mock, and Kitano’s self-awareness. Detractors felt that the second-half comedy section undermined the dramatic weight established in the first half. Still, few could argue against the film’s bravery to end a career like this within such a bold artistic statement.
Conclusion:
Broken Rage is a reflection of Takeshi Kitano’s art, encapsulating his multifaceted persona while intertwining the notions of violence and humor, absurdity and art. His most recent film is a reflection and a mockery of the crime genre he helped epitomize.
An essential element of Kitano’s filmmaking style is his avoidance of directly answering questions he poses to viewers. Instead, he purposefully intertwines stories, addresses memories, and blurs lines between reality and fiction, prompting depictions that urge scrutiny, leading audiences to ponder whether they should laugh or cry. In Kitano’s Broken Rage, the audience witnesses him grappling with life’s existence, uncovering the masquerade of a filmmaker and philosopher surreptitiously concealed.
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