is a 1990 Japanese

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

written and directed by

Takeshi Kitano , also known as in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. During hi ...

, who also co-stars under his stage name Beat Takeshi. It was Kitano's second film as a director and first film as a screenwriter. ''Boiling Point'' is seen as an important first step in his development as an editor and as a director.

Plot outline

Masaki is a shiftless, inattentive young man who is a member of a losing local

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team managed by Mr. Iguchi, a former

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

, whose coach is threatened and attacked by a local yakuza. He teams up with a friend to go to

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

to purchase guns so they can get revenge. A psychotic yakuza member named Uehara befriends them upon their arrival in Okinawa. Uehara has his own agenda of revenge, and as the story progresses the two boys drift further into his orbit, with unsettling results.

Cast

as Uehara * Yūrei Yanagi as Masaki *

Yuriko Ishida is a Japanese actress and essayist from Nagoya. She was the Japanese voice of the title character San from the 1997 animated film ''Princess Mononoke''. She is the older sister of Hikari Ishida, also an actress. Filmography Films *''Gokudo no O ...

as Sayaka * Gadarukanaru Taka as Takashi Iguchi *

Dankan is a Japanese actor, screenplay writer and film director. He appeared in more than 30 films since 1990. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * {{Authority control 1959 births Living people People from Sai ...

as Kazuo * Eri Fuse as Miki

Production

Kitano's trademark black humor suffuses the film in many ways: at one point, the boy finally does get a gun, but shoots out the windshield of his girlfriend's car by mistake. The film also features comedian Iizuka Minoru, also known as Dankan, who went on to become a Kitano regular (''

Getting Any? is a 1995 Japanese film, written, directed, edited, and starring Takeshi Kitano. ''Yatteru'' (やってる) is the colloquial form for ''yatteiru'' (やっている), ''yatteru'' coming from the Japanese verb ''yaru'', which is an informal word m ...

'') and

Katsuo Tokashiki Katsuo Tokashiki (渡嘉敷勝男, born July 27, 1960, in Okinawa, Japan) is a Japanese former WBA Light flyweight champion. He currently works as an actor and television persona, and runs his own boxing gym in Tokyo, Japan. Childhood & Early ...

, who is famous for his

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

skills in Japan. He also played a guard in Takeshi Kitano's ''

Takeshi's Castle is a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1990 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). It features the Japanese comedian Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who sets up difficult physical challenges that players ...

'' in the 1980s. The original title, ''3-4X Jugatsu'', is the final score of a baseball game played in the film. "Jugatsu" (October) was added to the title, because the most exciting games of baseball, play-off games, are played in October.

Reception

''Boiling Point'' has an approval rating of 94% on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 17 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10.

References

External links

* 1990 films 1990 crime drama films Japanese crime comedy films Films directed by Takeshi Kitano Films set in Okinawa Prefecture Japanese crime drama films 1990s Japanese-language films Shochiku films Yakuza films 1990s Japanese films {{1990s-Japan-film-stub