Kaiji The Ultimate Gambler

Directed by: Yuzo Sato

Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Yuki Amami, kenichi Matsuyama

Synopsis:

Kaiji (Fujiwara) is one of Life’s losers, whiling away his days as a convenience store clerk, wishing a better life would fall into his lap and resenting anyone who is better off than he is. When he is confronted by a loan shark to pay back a loan a friend of his had defaulted on, Kaiji is given a life-line, to join a gambling competition aboard a cruise ship.

On board, Kaiji and a whole bunch of people in a similar position as he are forced to take part in a gambling match which will either wipe clear their debts if they win, or force them into virtual slavery if they lose. This proves to be the start of Kaiji’s battle against a huge corporation which subjugates the poor into cheap labour, building a huge underground complex for the Chairman. Kaiji finds an unlikely ally in Rinko, the beautiful loan shark who got himself into this mess in the first place…

Review:

Ever wondered how all those Bond villains got their hi-tech, underground lairs? Well this film provides an answer: armies of people swamped with debt, paying off their dues with years of hard labour underground.

This film acts as a heavy handed metaphor depicting the vast divide between the haves and have-nots. The rich get richer and the poor are made poorer until they have nothing left to give but their lives. Any aspirations the poor might have of saving a little money to get out of their predicament are cruelly dashed by the enticement of “must-have” items at extortionate prices.

Our hero is an embittered loser who doesn’t want to earn success, he wants it to fall in his lap. When we first meet him he is desperately trying to win on scratch-cards, and the montage of his minimum-wage lifestyle is pathetic – but you also get the notion that he is his own worst enemy. Tasuya Fujiwara, who was fantastic in the Death Note films, is initially too whiny and ignorant at first for the audience to sympathise with the guy, but he does steadily earn our support.

There are three gambling scenarios that Kaiji must conquer, two of which he has to use his up-til-now untapped wits to beat his opponents, while the other basically relies on a good sense of balance. It’s in these moments that the film really comes alive as we bear witness to Kaiji’s thought process as he works out how his opponent is cheating, and then comes up with a strategy to overcome it.

Yuki Amami plays Rinko, the loan-shark who gets him into the mess in the first place. Rinko is a great character, overlooked by her superiors and jealous of Sahara, who is in charge of the gambling project, she nevertheless retains a playful air about her and in her dealings with Kaiji. There’s a nice comedic touch in that she’s always chastised by her bodyguard for being exactly what she appears to be. Don’t mistake her for having a heart!

Where Kaiji the Ultimate Gambler falls down is in the vast amount of internal dialogue being spewed forth. Some of it is necessary, but I felt it went too far, especially during the third gambling scenario.

Verdict:

Apparently this film bares little resemblance to the manga and anime series it was adapted from, but as a standalone fantasy movie I found it to be very entertaining, with a central hero who eventually grows on you and has you rooting for him during the rousing finale.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest