Dead or Alive

In the organizer's words:

DEAD OR ALIVE
犯罪者 Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha

Director: MIIKE Takashi
1999, 105 minutes, OmeU, 35 mm

FSK from 18

In this hard-hitting action thriller, a yakuza of Chinese descent and a Japanese policeman wage a brutal war against the underworld. Director Miike Takashi is considered a multi-talent in the Japanese film world, but several of his works have been criticized for their extreme depiction of violence.

The film begins with a fast-paced action sequence of crime, violence and sex in the Tokyo district of Kabukichô, a place of darkness and corruption. Jôjima is a detective in Shinjuku and is interested in solving the crime, but has the problem that he personally needs a lot of money to finance his sick daughter's operation. His opponent is the power-mad yakuza Ryûichi, who has to work with the Chinese mafia to conquer Shinjuku. The battle between the two men culminates in a furious finale.

Film series
Turning Point
Japanese films from the 1990s

The decline of the studio system in the 1980s and the bursting of the speculative bubble at the beginning of the 1990s marked a turning point in the Japanese film industry. A generation of directors emerged who created independent productions with great creativity and small budgets, giving the film landscape an exciting new impetus. The series shows eight titles that impressively express this change.

It opens with a tragicomedy by Sai Yôichi about the lives of social minorities(Tsuki wa dotchi ni dete iru), followed by the story of the (sexual) relationship between two runners by Hiroki Ryûichi(800 Two Lap Runners). Suwa Nobuhiro, on the other hand, paints a multi-layered portrait of a young couple(2/Dyuo) and Kurosawa Kiyoshi, the master of thrillers and horror films, provides deep insights into the abysses of the human psyche(Hebi no michi; Karisuma). In a mixture of tragedy and comedy, Sabu tells the story of an unsuspecting letter carrier(Posutoman burûsu), while Kawase Naomi focuses on the problems of a family in a rural region(Moe no Suzaku). Finally, Miike Takashi is represented with a yakuza film full of absurdities(Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha).

The film series takes place in cooperation with the Nippon Connection film festival in Frankfurt (27.05. - 01.06.2025). Further information can be found at https://nipponconnection.com/

Price information:

Admission free