Documentary

52 minutes
English
2005

Philippe COUTURE

Art&Facts , GNN

FILM IN PRODUCTION

The Yakuza are one of the world’s most illusive criminal underworlds, feared by many, and understood by almost none. The Yakuza’s world is not merely the dark side of Japanese society, it is its evil reflection. It is a feudalistic order that has managed to survive for centuries, adapting to modern times while retaining its fundamental structures: The pyramidal organization, the indefectible loyalty of the soldiers to their chiefs, the total control of the territory by different clans and the use of the violence to ensure their position. It is the survival of an invisible Shogunate, a State in the State. Entering this State doesn’t require any visa; but it can be deadly. Fear is their most powerful weapon. And fear is definitively the first reaction we met at the beginning of our research. Despite the fact that almost everybody in Japan knows or knows-somebody-who-knows Yakuza, everybody was much too afraid to get involved by introducing us to them. So we decided to go straight to them.