Agitator – Review

As yakuza crews meet to discuss business, tensions are high. A leader’s goldfish is dead. Not only that, but a call comes in that a boss was ambushed and stabbed multiple times! The gangsters zoom across town to find him.

When they do… he’s just fine, and disappointed with their response time. But he has a job for them: it is to party for Kunihiko Kenzaki’s (Masaya) birthday! The next day Kunihiko’s boss meets with other rival syndicate leaders. They are having trouble replacing one of their hospitalized bosses. Maybe it is time for a merger?

Too bad a bunch of younger yakuza members get out of hand in a rival gangster’s nightclub, setting off ongoing cycles of violence and retaliation. Will the bosses ever get their people under control, or will all the hoodlums keep drawing blood in the name of revenge and territorial protections?

Agitator is a long crawl through yakuza land by a director that seems to pump out an endless amount of films. The quality on all fronts is pretty high, but the runtime is definitely quite long. Its focus on youthful violent yakuza assholes and their methodical bosses drives the core of the picture, and it is unlikely to convert anyone to supporters of their criminal ways or gang wars.

The film is fairly interesting despite the slow pace, and features some violent clashes and touches of action, but mostly is a crime drama with plenty of dialogue and even character introspection. Miike’s touch behind the lens is subtle as opposed to some of his all-out frenetic energy blood fests, but it fits the mood of the script. Acting is good and mostly I would think the runtime will dictate how much viewers can take as it is well over two-hours.

There is also an extended cut which is about 30 minutes longer.