( or, in some English-language editions, ''The Five'') is a

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

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 ...

directed by Takashi Ishii and starring

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 ...

, Kōichi Satō and

Masahiro Motoki Masahiro Motoki (本木雅弘 ''Motoki Masahiro'', born December 21, 1965) is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in '' Departures'', which won the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. His performance earne ...

. This was the first film Kitano starred in after his 1994 motorcycle accident. The eyepatch the character wears was because his right eye was still leaking fluids.

Summary

Bandai (Sato) is a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

owner whose business, following the collapse of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

bubble economy Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

, is slowly disintegrating, and who owes debts he cannot possibly pay to the local

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 ...

. His solution is to rob the gangsters, for which purpose he assembles a team consisting of other casualties of the economic

downturn In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

—including a gay hustler (Motoki) who frequents his club, a down-on-his-luck ex-cop (Jinpachi Nezu), an unbalanced

salaryman The term is a Japanese word for salary, salaried workers. In Japanese popular culture, it is portrayed as a white-collar worker who shows unwavering loyalty and commitment to his employer, prioritizing work over anything else, including family. ...

(

Naoto Takenaka is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. ...

), and a Thai

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

(Kippei Shiina). The hastily planned heist goes off awkwardly, and the yakuza start tracking down the conspirators, hiring a team of hitmen (Kitano and Kazuya Kimura) to take out the thieves.

Cast

* Kōichi Satō as Mikihiko Bandai *

as Junichi Mitsuya * Jinpachi Nezu as Kaname Hizu *

Kippei Shiina is a Japanese actor. Career Shiina portrayed John Rain and co-starred in Max Mannix's '' Rain Fall'' (2009) with Gary Oldman. He starred in Takeshi Kitano's '' Outrage'' (2010). Filmography Film *''Wangan Bad Boy Blue'' (1992) *''A Night in N ...

as Jimmy *

as Shohei Ogiwara * Megumi Yokoyama as Nammy *

Eiko Nagashima is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 5th Yokohama Film Festival and the award for best supporting actress at the 8th Hochi Film Award for '' Ryuji''. Selected filmography Film *'' Crazy Fruit'' (1981) *''Ryuji'' (1983 ...

as Saki *

Maiko Kawakami is a Japanese actress who has starred in numerous movies and TV serials. She is a graduate of Keio University through distance education. Biography Maiko debuted on an NHK drama titled ''Kizuna''. In 1980, she starred in the second Kinpachi- ...

as Hostess at Pinky *

Hideo Murota was a Japanese actor who specialized in playing villains and tough guys. In 1957, he signed a contract with Toei Studio and appeared in over 1000 films. He won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Yokohama Film Festival for his role in ''Origi ...

as Shikine *

Kazuya Kimura is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Kazuya can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *一八, "one, eight" *一矢, "one, arrow" *一也, "one, to be" *一夜, "one, night" *和也, "harmony, to be" *和矢, "h ...

as Kazuma Shibata *

Shingo Tsurumi is a Japanese actor. Career Shingo Tsurumi has appeared in the films such as Katsuhito Ishii's '' Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl'', Hideo Nakata's '' L: Change the World'', and Tak Sakaguchi's '' Yakuza Weapon''. Filmography Films * '' ...

as Shigeru Hisamatsu *

Toshiyuki Nagashima is a Japanese actor. He won the award for Best Newcomer at the 3rd Hochi Film Awards for '' Kaerazaru hibi'' and for Best Actor at the 6th Hochi Film Awards for '' Enrai''. Selected filmography Film *'' Kaerazaru hibi'' (1978) *''Third Base' ...

as Yasumasa Ogoshi *

as Ichiro Kyoya

References

External links

* *
Gonin
' at the Japanese Movie Database 1995 films 1995 crime drama films 1995 crime thriller films 1990s heist films Films directed by Takashi Ishii Japanese crime drama films Japanese crime thriller films 1990s Japanese-language films Japanese heist films Yakuza films 1990s Japanese films {{1990s-Japan-film-stub