Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2012

It is ironic that the “Golden Age” of Japanese cinema was noted for the restraint in emotion and expression employed by such masters as Ozu and Mizoguchi. Japanese feature film dramas today have a tendency to do everything so over the top, one leaves the theater thoroughly annoyed. Such is the case with Yamakin Ushijima-kun, an interesting premise that has the volume turned up to 13.

Based on a successful manga that was then a TV series, the film depicts a set of stories in the life of Ushijima (Takayuki Yamada), a loan shark who uses violent means to collect his debts. Mirai (Yuko Oshima) is a young woman in the prime of life who is suddenly saddled with her departed mother’s debts. Conversely, Jun (Kento Hayashi), the nasty boss of an events company, borrows money to leverage his position in his industry.

While the story has its gripping moments the emotions are so overplayed and the scenes so charged with melodrama the whole project loses any power. Study your own cinema Japan! (129 min)