is a 2016 Japanese

action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...

directed by

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...

from a screenplay by

Kankuro Kudo is an old-fashioned Japanese given name rarely used in modern Japan. Real people *Kankurō Kudō, actor-screenwriter. *The kabuki actors known as Nakamura Kankurō, including: **Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, actor who previously known as Nakamura Kan ...

based on the popular

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series ''

Mogura no Uta is a Japanese manga series written by . It was serialized in Shogakukan's '' Weekly Young Sunday'' from 2005 to 2008, and transferred to '' Big Comic Spirits'' in 2008. It has been adapted into a live-action film, titled '' The Mole Song: Un ...

'' by Noboru Takahashi. It is the sequel to the 2013 film '' The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji'' and follows the story of Reiji Kikukawa after the events of that film.

Plot

Undercover investigator Reiji Kikukawa, nicknamed "The Mole", has infiltrated the Hiura gang led by Masaya Hiura, a.k.a. "Crazy Papillon", and risen to the rank of second-in-command after eliminating the members of the clan who were involved in the illegal drug trade without authorization. A disgraced yakuza member forges an alliance with the Dragon Skulls, a Chinese gang, to take on the Sukiya-kai clan that is in control of the

Kanto Region Japanese Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region * Kantō-kai, organized crime group * Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ''Pokém ...

. Shuho Todoroki, head of the Sukiya-kai, becomes a target and his daughter Karen is kidnapped to be sold at a beauty auction in Hong Kong. Reiji once again tries to do the right thing while remaining undercover as he becomes entangled in a massive international conspiracy. Meanwhile, elite police officer Shinya Kabuto moves to arrest Reiji.

Cast

Toma Ikuta is a Japanese actor. Ikuta is known for his roles in ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'', '' Honey & Clover'', '' Sensei!'', '' Maō'' and ''Ouroboros''. He also stars in feature films, notably '' Hanamizuki'', '' Ningen Shikkaku'' and ''Brain Man'' ...

as Reiji Kikukawa *

Eita Eita may refer to: * Eita (name), a Japanese male given name * Eita (actor), Eita Nagayama (born 1982), Japanese actor * Eita (wrestler) (born 1991), Japanese professional wrestler * Eita (mythology), or Aita, an epithet of the Etruscan chtho ...

as Shinya Kabuto *

Tsubasa Honda is a Japanese actress and model. Career In mid-2006, Honda entered the entertainment industry after being scouted by seven different people on the same day. She then debuted as an exclusive model for the magazine '' Seventeen'' in the same year. ...

as Karen Todoroki *

Shinichi Tsutsumi is a Japanese stage and screen actor. Internationally, he is best known for his roles as Koichi Takagi in the ''Monday'' films, Tetsuya Ishigami in the '' Suspect X'' films, and Jo Sawashiro in '' Yakuza: Like a Dragon.'' In Japan, he is best kn ...

as Masaya Hiura *

Riisa Naka is a Japanese actress. She was given a Best New Talent award at the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival. Naka became famous by appearing in ''Hachi One Diver'' (2008) and played the lead, Hana Adachi, in '' Yankee-kun to Megane-chan'' (2010). Naka also ...

as Junna Wakagi *

Yusuke Kamiji is a Japanese actor, singer, and tarento. In the music world, he is known simply as . Biography Kamiji graduated from Yokohama Senior High School. He belonged to the baseball club while in school, and played catcher. He and Daisuke Matsuzak ...

as Kenta Kurokawa * Nanao as Hufon *

Arata Furuta is a Japanese theatre and film character actor. Biography Furata has a broad range that goes from playing serious salary men, to '' bushi'' in period drama roles, and even women. He works with the theatrical troupe called Otona Keikaku and of ...

as Momoji Sakuraja *

Kenichi Endō is a Japanese actor and writer. He also worked as a narrator for many documentaries, both on television and film. He is best known for his roles in '' Visitor Q'' (2001), '' Crows Zero'' (2007), ''Crows Zero 2'' (2009), and '' The Raid 2: Bera ...

as Kazumi Akagiri *

Sarutoki Minagawa is a Japanese actor. He worked with Suzuki Matsuo in the theater troupe, Otona Keikaku. Filmography Film *'' Drugstore Girl'' (2004) *'' Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims'' (2005) *''Death Note'' (2006) *''Pile Driver'' (2007) *'' Climber ...

as Doppo Fukuzumi *

Mitsuru Fukikoshi is a Japanese actor. Career Born in Aomori Prefecture, Fukikoshi moved to Tokyo at age 19 and joined the Wahaha Honpo theater troupe. Since leaving Wahaha in 1999, he has appeared in many films and television dramas, while continuing to act on ...

as Toshio Sakami *

Koichi Iwaki is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best actor at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for the 1986 film '' Minami e Hashire, Umi no Michi o''. He was a Zainichi Korean until April 5, 2017, when he naturalized. Iwaki is also a racing car driver. ...

as Shuho Todoroki *

Ikumi Hisamatsu is a Japanese actress, fashion model, gravure idol, variety and tarento. Biography Hisamatsu was born in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Jap ...

as Chirin

Release

The film premiered at the 2016 International Film Festival & Awards Macao on 9 December 2016. It later received wide release in Japan on 23 December 2016. It had its North American premiere at the 16th

New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a film festival held in New York City dedicated to the display of Asian film and culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles from Eastern Asia ...

14 July 2017. By the first screenings, the film had ranked #5 at the Japanese Box Office, and earned ¥223 million (US$1.804 million).

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews. Mark Schilling of ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' wrote that Toma Ikuta is "a versatile actor" who plays "a goofy undercover-cop-cum-gangster". In a separate review of the film he wrote that ''The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio'' is one of Takashi Miike's better films, noting that "Ikuta gives himself up totally to the idiocy of being Reiji, from his incurable awkwardness with women to his knack for stupidly getting himself into perilous situations." Maggie Lee of ''Variety'' wrote, "Despite the ragtag characters, sudden twists, and dizzying collage-like animated sequences, Kudo's literate screenplay and Kenji Yamashita's brisk editing manage to steer the main plot on course, making this one of the easiest-to-follow outings by Miike."

Home video

The film was released on Blu-ray & DVD on June 14, 2017.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio, The 2016 films Films directed by Takashi Miike Films with screenplays by Kankurō Kudō Live-action films based on manga Yakuza films Triad films Films about police officers Films set in Hong Kong 2010s Japanese-language films Films about amputees Films about human trafficking Japanese action comedy films 2010s police comedy films 2016 action comedy films 2010s Japanese films Japanese sequel films