This is a Japanese movie by director Takeshi Kitano, who also acts. I've heard him described as the japanese Oprah, in the sense that he is involved in so much and is such a fixture/cultural icon. This is one of his more recent movies, starring Forest Whitteker (Ghost Dog) about a man who must leave Japan because his involvement with the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) goes sour, then upon arriving in New York, through a series of twists and turns he manages to get into trouble with the Mafia. This results in an awesome stand off. If violence and fight choreography doesn't entice you the way it does me, the quality of the movie will woo you. Kitano is famous for shooting entire movies in an incredibly short period of time. He encourages actors to practice a movie and act it out many times, like a play, before he films anything. He thinks to film a scene out of context again and again to elicit a certain emotion is interrupting the natural flow of the action and is cheap/fake. So many of the scenes in his movie are a single take. If you've ever seen Children of Men, you know what a feat this is. The film is also visually very dynamic, and beautiful to watch. Truly, a well made movie.
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