Honour, loyalty, revenge – and no shortage of bloodletting – form the backbone of the cross-cultural Martial Arts drama thriller YAKUZA PRINCESS, adapted from the graphic novel ‘Shiro’
A young Japanese, Osaka-native woman, Akemi (Masumi), is traumatised by the massacre of her family two decades before, carving out a life as a street vendor whilst learning the ways of the Yakuza through her designated sensei in the immense Japanese community of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Meanwhile, in a local hospital, a foreigner (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is strapped to a bed and of immense interest to the local law enforcement, not least in that he was discovered with a Japanese ‘katana’ sword in his possession.
Unable to remember how he got it – or even his own name – he escapes from the hospital and heads to the house of the young woman. In the meantime, destiny and fate are about to collide for the woman and the foreigner, whose interaction and entwined relationship with the Yakuza is about to take a dark and bloody turn….
Visually stylish, but ultimately frustratingly shallow combination of culture clash-cum-martial arts exploitation, YAKUZA PRINCESS has a lot of potential at its’ heart, particularly with the use of the Japanese locale within Sao Paulo, a demographic that has not really been exploited in a narrative context. This element of the film is sadly underused and would make for an engaging film in its’ own right.
Part of the issue overall is the fact that there are two very strong protagonists whose individual story arcs impact on the other and could work perfectly well as individual storylines, coupled with a very strong visual pallet that stimulates the eyeline when the story moves at its’ most effective. In addition, the pace of the film dilutes the focus when it is most needed and there are some underdeveloped characters, which resort to bloody violence and persuasion when they need an answer or two.
That said, fans of KILL BILL and the Far East culture will find some appeal in the film, not least in some well-staged action that is the core strength of the film. It is a shame that the rest of the film doesn’t balance up this aspect.
