(Not exactly the best film to dispel the stereotype of rampaging Americans overseas, eh?)
CAST: Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, Yusaku Matsuda, Shigeru Koyama, John Spencer, Miyuki Ono.
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and uneasy American-Japanese alliances straight ahead.
BLACK RAIN was the first VHS video I bought for myself. It was also the first DVD that I owned. And it will also likely be the first Blu-Ray DVD I collect if and when I decide to upgrade.
Why do I love BLACK RAIN so much? Well for starters: (1) it’s a kinetic mystery/thriller set in Japan, an enigmatic country that has always fascinated me; (2) it’s directed by Ridley Scott, the master of seductive, dreamy atmosphere; and (3) it reminds me of a less futuristic BLADE RUNNER. In short, BLACK RAIN is the textbook of example of style over substance. But in this case, the style actually enhances the substance.
Our hero is Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas), and he has issues. He’s butting heads with his Internal Affairs office in New York. And as if that’s not bad enough, he and his freewheeling partner Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia) witness a brutal murder committed by a mysterious Japanese man (Yusaku Matsuda) in a local Italian restaurant. The victim? Another Japanese man.
Of course, being cops, Nick and Charlie give chase to the fleeing killer. Nick corners him in a meat-packing plant, where a fight ensues. Eventually, Charlie shows up and helps Nick subdue their quarry enough to cuff the bastard and haul him in.
Turns out the Japanese dude is Sato, a feared Yakuza gangster. The guy that he killed in the Italian restaurant was a Yakuza oyabun - or leader. Why he did it is still unknown, though. In the meantime, Sato needs to be transported back to Japan, where he pretty much is as sought after by the police as Hannibal Lecter is by the FBI. Only Sato eats Italian food - and not Italians.
And guess who gets the shitty task of having to escort the Yakuza putz back to the Land of Sushi? Yup, Nicky and Chuck.
Unfortunately, pretty much as soon as they land in Japan, Nick and Charlie relinquish custody of Sato to a gaggle of Japanese men looking very official and wielding a bunch of paperwork full of Japanese writing - which is about as decipherable as Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Or my handwriting.
Anyway, long story short, the guys picking up Sato turn out to be his Yakuza buds - not the Osaka police. And the paperwork they waved under his nose turns out to be insurance policy paperwork - not police transfer forms. In other words, Nick Conklin and Charlie Vincent are so very, very fucked.
Will Nick be able to track Sato down before he kills again? Or will he and Charlie just turn tail and head back to the U.S. of A in defeat? Who can they trust in a land where nothing is what it seems? Will they be able to work with their Japanese liaison, Masa (Ken Takakura)? Or will Nick piss him off with all the references to “Japs” and “Nips”? What role does Joyce Kingsley (Kate Capshaw), a gorgeous American bartender, have in the unfolding mystery? Does she know where Sato is? Is she friend? Or foe? And why does Steven Spielberg get to keep Kate Capshaw all to himself? Not fair! See what I mean below:
See for yourselves. Me? I’m hitting an all-you-can-eat Sushi buffet!
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Often underrated because of its glossy look and kinetic feel, BLACK RAIN is just as strong as any other film in the Ridley Scott oeuvre. Peel back all that glitz, though, and you’ve got a solid thriller that blends character, atmosphere, action, and suspense.
Michael Douglas is top-notch as Nick Conklin, a good man who has forgotten his own goodness. Rough around the edges and politically-incorrect, Nick is a perfect anti-hero, and Douglas plays him with just the right mix of toughness, humor and vulnerability. As the more carefree and pacific Charlie Vincent, Andy Garcia is BLACK RAIN’s comic relief. He not only loosens up his more uptight partner, but also relaxes the audience as well with his boyish eagerness and warmth.
Ken Takakura makes Masa into an admirable figure of old-world graciousness and honor, and this rubs off on the volatile Nick. However, Masa also learns some valuable lessons from his new American friend, such as learning to trust your instinct and acting on it when necessary. Douglas and Takakura’s rapport and the slowly-solidifying relationship between their characters is BLACK RAIN’s emotional center.
As the sinister Sato, the late actor Yusaku Matsuda nails his role. With a minimum of dialogue, Sato comes across as a more-than-credible threat with an array of gestures, expressions, and movements that flesh him out into a strong villain. Also, Matsuda was apparently very sick during the filming of BLACK RAIN, but reportedly chose to take part in it anyway, knowing that the film would immortalize him. And it did. God rest his soul.
Finally, Kate Capshaw takes a film-noir trope (the cool, mysterious beauty with suspect loyalties) and makes it fresh and human. In her hands, Joyce Kingsley is never less than intriguing - jaded, cynical, but still honorable. With a minimal of backstory, we sense that Joyce has come to Japan to start over - and her encounters with Nick probably bring back memories of whatever she’s trying to recover from. BLACK RAIN's rough cut was reportedly nearly three hours long and had to be cut down to just over two hours by Ridley Scott for theatrical release. I suspect that most of the scenes cut were from the Nick-Joyce relationship. It would be great to see a Director’s Cut of BLACK RAIN that restores this plot thread. Seeing these two bruised souls enact a tentative dance of attraction/retreat is another of BLACK RAIN’s pleasures. A more fleshed out version of this platonic friendship/romance would be awesome.
Finally, praise must be given to Ridley Scott’s typically stylish and assured direction. As he did with BLADE RUNNER, HANNIBAL, ALIEN, GLADIATOR and pretty much all the films he’s directed, Scott turns BLACK RAIN into an atmospheric and vividly sensual ride. This is also the first film that he collaborated on with composer Hans Zimmer, and the musical score is dynamite, which also helps in creating and sustaining the movie’s kinetic, sinister, and ultimately hopeful feel.
BLACK RAIN is a forgotten gem. Discover it now. Before they remake it.
