Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: YAKUZA PRINCESS [Fantasia Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The texture of revenge is locked in the perspective of knowledge. When that is taken away, it is like shooting in the dark. For the survivor of a massacre that she unaware of that happened through the omission of her only past living relative, a young woman, who has trained in the blade and lived in Brazil must look but also understand her family roots, albeit in a neon jungle where it is killed or be killed. Masumi, a rising pop star with a stunt penchant and background, takes on the title role in a film that mixes Japanese lore with a lurid Brazilian flavor. It is a different way to tell the story. The interesting addition is Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a would-be assassin. It is not outside his wheelhouse but it does seem an odd choice with his background.

Perhaps he likes the genre but in acting with the lead actress, the distance in their acting prowess is significant. The more interesting story is between the two Yakuza lieutenants and their angles for power and honor. The power struggle but also the movement between trust and deceit is what keeps the film going. There is also one section of the film which while unusual doesn't speak to its real meaning. It harks in a way to the recent "Snake Eyes" movie with a closed clan but its importance beyond secrecy is not truly made clear. Ultimately it is about sacrifice and the choices people make. That is the true power of the journey here though some decisions, especially in the final moments - while thematic -- don't paint the right path of survival, even though that might not be the goal. B-

By Tim Wassberg