Kucukake Tokidžiró: Júkjó ippiki

Weary of the rigid codes of the underworld, gambler Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura) wanders Japan in search of freedom. But escape proves to be impossible when an obligation to a gang boss leaves him with no choice but to kill a man. To atone for his crime, he vows to take care of his victim’s widow and young son. But the gang won’t rest until they’ve killed the entire family - including the man who stands in their way. With this breathtakingly stylised film, Tai Kato broke all the conventions of the yakuza genre, fusing blood-spurting action with melodrama worthy of Japanese cinema’s greatest masters. (Radiance Films)