Wild Life

Following up on his acclaimed Helpless and Chimpura, Shinji Aoyama directs this bizarre reworking of a yakuza flick. Hiroki Sakai (Kosuke Toyohara) adjusts pins in pachinko machines for a living. It's a dull existence, but Sakai seems to have made his peace with it. One day he runs into his former co-worker, Mizuguchi (Ken Mitsuishi), a twitchy sort who managed a parlor before yakuza goons beat him up and robbed the place. Now he is obsessed with the thought of vengeance against his assailants. Soon afterwards, he runs into Rie (Yuna Natsuo) -- the daughter of his boss -- who has suddenly blossomed into voluptuous womanhood and who is eagerly hoping to improve her relationship with Sakai. Later, he finds himself the target of yakuza aggression when the gang's boss comes to believe that Sakai is the bearer of a coveted envelope. Though a sensible and retiring sort by nature, he realizes that the only way to end this unwanted adventure is to rescue his boss, Tsumura (Mickey Curtis), from the clutches of the yakuza.