Photo: Daruma Film Partners
Kiyamachi Daruma
In most career paths, the absence of any arms and legs would be something of an impediment, but who knew that limblessness could be an advantage if employed as a debt collector for the Yakuza? Veteran character actor Endo Kenichi gives a tenacious performance as Katsuura, a former boss in the Kyoto Yakuza who had his limbs removed after an act of betrayal by one of his henchmen. With the help of underling-turned-nursemaid Sakamoto (Miura Masaki), Katsuura terrifies people into paying back their debts in truly unsettling ways. Adapted from a banned novel by Maruno Hiroyuki, Sasaki Hideo's politically incorrect gangster fable alternates scenes of cringing corporeal violence with moments of even more shocking tenderness, united by an underlying tide of black humor. The title refers to a Daruma doll, the Japanese equivalent of those inflatable bounce-back clowns.
