Onibi: The Fire Within (1997)
After spending over half his life in prison, ex-hitman Kunihiro is determined to go straight. But the shortcomings of the new gangs mean that he is soon having to call on his old-school yakuza talents. And when he falls for Asako, a beautiful piano player, she unknowingly ignites a fire within Kuni that will immolate everything and everybody around him. Regarded by many as his masterpiece, Onibi has all the hallmarks of a Mochizuki film, with the gangster elements tightly compressed and controlled to allow space in which a subdued romance can bloom. Coming from a background in porno cinema, this master of sexual relations injects a fresh passion and tension into the macho world of the yakuza film.
Directed by RokurÅ Mochizuki
Written by Toshiyuki Morioka
The Way of Hwarang
1962
Wasabi
2001
Payback
1999
Days of Thunder
1990
The Revengers' Comedies
1998
Vanilla Sky
2001
Don Juan DeMarco
1994
Crank
2006
Ask the Dust
2006
Bandidas
2006
Open Range
2003
The Last True Yakuza
1985
The Professionals
2016
A Nos Amours
1983
Tokyo Mafia: Yakuza Wars
1995
Chapelle
2024
I'm the One You Want
2014
That Sounds Good
2010
Manhattan
1979
Annie Hall
1977