Masaki is quite the simple-minded fellow. When he doesn’t work at a gas station, he occasionally plays at a base-ball team. One day, he has a rough encounter with a Yakuza, and the gas station’s put at stake. Hopefully, Masaki has a friend who was part of a Yakuza clan.
Released in 1990, this is Takeshi Kitano’s second film, but also his first venture and proper credit as a screenwriter and editor. Some of the elements of this movie would go on to become staples of Kitano’s filmography (most notably Yakuzas and Beach settings), and he’ll develop these themes further in Sonatine.
Has nothing to do with Boiling Point: Road to Hell, Ramsay's Boiling Point, the 1993 movie, Boiling Point (2021), or the MTV show. However, the film's original Japanese name is San tai Yon ekkusu Jugatsu which can translate to 3 to 4x October.
This Film Provides Examples Of:
- All Just a Dream: All the meddling with the yakuzas, the trip at Okinawa, the gun acquirement, the car explosion... were just part of a daydream Masaki had while sitting at a toilet. Or was it premonitory ?
- Black Comedy
- Book Ends: The movie begins and ends with the same scene of Masaki leaving a toilet cabin and going to a base-ball field. However, he lazily walks to the baseball field at the beginning of the movie, while he runs to the field at the ending of the movie.
- Dope Slap: Happens regularly to Miki by Uehara.
- Dull Surprise: Masaki rarely displays strong emotions, wether it’s during a base-ball game or when he’s against a yakuza.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After his shootout attempt fails, Masaki drives a truck into the yakuzas' HQ, making it explode as a result.
- Hidden Weapons: Uehara hides a machine gun in a bouquet of flowers before preparing a shootout. The disguise falls short, as Uehara fires the gun by accident.
- Reality Has No Soundtrack: Besides some songs being played in the background for the right context (especially one scene which involves karaoke), there isn’t any soundtrack for this movie.
- Token Minority: When Masaki is spending time with Uehara, there's a silent black woman in Uehara's group. She doesn't have a name or any dialogue, and is left alone by Uehara later.
- Token White: The guy who delivers the guns to Uehara might be played by the only white actor in the whole film.
