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Brother
2000 113 min Japan, United Kingdom, France R 18+
★6.6
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Trailers
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EN
Description
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Budget:
$12M
US Gross:
$450,594
Worldwide:
$15.25M
Starring
Takeshi Kitano
Actor
Claude Maki
Actor
Omar Epps
Actor
Awards
1 win & 1 nomination total
Key opinion
Brother is a stylized, contemplative gangster drama that explores the immutable nature of the protagonist through a collision of Japanese yakuza codes and American street culture. While its minimalist aesthetic and meditative pacing polarized viewers, it is widely regarded as a profound, albeit uncompromising, character study of duty and loneliness.
| Score | Joe Hisaishi’s melancholic, atmospheric score provides an essential emotional layer that elevates the film's sparse, stoic tone. | |
| Acting | Kitano’s performance masterfully anchors the film, projecting a clock-work professionalism and stoic, emotionless composure. | |
| Theme | The film’s violence is depicted with unflinching, ritualistic detail, serving as a cultural signifier of the yakuza code rather than mere spectacle. | |
| Pacing | The film's deliberate, slow-burn pacing creates a divide between viewers who find it hypnotic and meaningful and those who find it exhausting or uneventful. | |
| Accessibility | Audiences are split on the film's accessibility, with some finding it a rewarding, layered masterpiece and others struggling with its unconventional structure and lack of traditional plot momentum. |