Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.
Rikosetsivä Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) vierailee vaimonsa (Kayoko Kishimoto) luona sairaalassa. Samaan aikaan hänen työparinsa ja ystävänsä Horibe (Ren Osugi) jää yksin tarkkailemaan rikollisen asuntoa. Nishi saa kuulla, että hänen vaimonsa on parantumattomasti sairas – ja heti tämän jälkeen, että hänen ystäväänsä on ammuttu.
Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Yamamoto kuuluu pahamaineiseen Yakuzaan - japanilaiseen mafiaan. Mutta kun tuhoisa alamaailman sota raivoaa Japanissa, Yamamoto päättää vaihtaa maisemaa. Yamamoto lähtee Los Angelesiin etsiäkseen velipuolensa käsiinsä. Nuorempi veli Ken pyörittää pientä huumekauppaorganisaatiota nuorten asfalttisotureiden avulla. Yamamoton mielestä pikkuveljen jengissä on ainesta enempäänkin: hän haluaa muokata Kenin pikkuporukasta kaupungin ykkösporukan. Tukenaan Yamamotolla on nuori pelimies Denny, joka auttaa japanilaista kolleegaansa selviämään pahimman kulttuurishokin yli. Mutta kun Yamamoton orastava imperiumi päätyy napit vastakkain italialaisen mafian kanssa, pelistä tulee vakavaa. Nuorien ja nälkäisten haastajien on opittava luottamaan toisiinsa - ja opittava jotain kunniasta varkaiden kesken. Heistä tulee enemmän kuin asetovereita: heistä tulee veljiä-
Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.
Kaunis kertomus kuurosta pojasta Shigerusta (Kurôdo Maki), joka kohdistaa päivittäiset puuhansa ja intohimonsa rannalla surffailuun löydettyään roskakuskin apulaisena vahingoittuneen lainelaudan. Tyttöystävänsä kanssa hän lähtee jokapäivä merenrannalle harjoittelemaan korjaamallansa laudalla, kuitenkaan ilman mitään erityistä motiivia harrastukseensa kohtaan.
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
Machisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.
Set in China's underworld, this tale of love and betrayal follows a dancer who fired a gun to protect her mobster boyfriend during a fight. On release from prison 5 years later, she sets out to find him.
Asao näkee unta, kuinka mieshenkilö noukkii pikatien reunalta kauniin nuoren neidon upouuteen urheiluautoonsa ja saa loputa hunajaa auton takapenkillä. Asaon on unesta herättyään yksinkertaisesti pakko saada seksiä autossa, joten mies menee oitis autokauppaan sellaista hakemaan. Harmiksensa autot eivät tee tehtäväänsä. Niinpä mies päättää hommata jostakin rahaa saadakseen vielä hienomman menopelin.
A young dancer, her security-guard boyfriend and others work at World Park, a bizarre cross-pollination of Las Vegas and Epcot Center where visitors can interact with famous international monuments without ever leaving the Beijing suburbs.
Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.
Beat Takeshi lives the busy and sometimes surreal life of a showbiz celebrity. One day he meets his blond lookalike named Kitano, a shy convenience store cashier, who, still an unknown actor, is waiting for his big break. After their paths cross, Kitano seems to begin hallucinating about becoming Beat.
As a decades-old state-run aeronautics munitions factory in downtown Chengdu, China is being torn down for the construction of the titular luxury apartment complex, director Jia Zhangke interviews various people affiliated with it about their experiences.
China's rapid changes from the late-1970s to the early 1990s, as seen through the lives of four performers in a theater troupe.
Two disaffected, unemployed Chinese youth drift through life on the streets of their industrial town, their paths crossing with that of a dancer who advertises for a liquor company.
Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.
Ryuzo and his 7 former henchmen are all retired yakuza, but they now live as regular old men. One day, Ryuzo becomes the victim of a phishing fraud. He calls his 7 men together to reform their society.