Tatsumi (BLU-RAY)

Tatsumi, an unassuming fisherman, makes his real livelihood by cleaning up dead bodies for local yakuza gangs. When criminal intrigue leads to the vicious murder of his ex-girlfriend by one of the gangsters, it thrusts her hot-headed teenage sister Aoi (a tour de force by ingénue Kokoro Morita) onto an unbridled path of vengeance. With his own personal motives in tow, Tatsumi vows to mentor and protect Aoi to the bitter end of her blood-soaked crusade. Gritty, mean and intense from the get-go, Tatsumi recalls the explosive “true document” yakuza films of celebrated director Kinji Fukasaku while adding a fresh perspective to its violent proceedings. Director Hiroshi Shoji flexes his auteur chops with stylish panache that never belies the genre’s misanthropic DNA. His naturalistic direction and the cast’s breathtaking performances render Tatsumi a “tense, brutally realistic and an overall great film” (Asian Movie Pulse).