Classic Films - Reviews and Reflections with Stuart Fernie
Jul 6, 2026 · 8 min · 7 segments
Send us Fan Mail Discussion and analysis of characters and themes in Sydney Pollack’s “The Yakuza”, starring Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Keiko…
While I enjoy the exploration of duty, friendship, trust and responsibility, I am more than willing to recognise the film has numerous flaws.
It is undeniable that the film is repetitive, contains verbose and unnecessarily lengthy exchanges of dialogue, and suffers from a convoluted, contrived and unclear plot that unfolds at a leisurely pace in places.
However, I do enjoy the depth of characterisation in the principal characters, the Japanese environment, the pervading sense of cultural displacement and mystery, the nagging sense of heartache leading to remorse, and the exploration of neo-noir or existential themes such as respect, giri, and the nature of morality, duty, and loyalty, elements of bushido, the code of ethics of the samurai who were the forebears of the modern yakuza.
Underpinning everything, and fundamental to the concept of giri, the Japanese cultural notion of duty, debt or obligation which is a driving force in nearly all the characters in the film, is existentialism and the idea that our lives, choices and actions impact the lives of others and we should recognise responsibility for that impact.
Of course, also fundamental to existentialism is the principle that morality does not exist.
It is entirely self-contained and, as one character in the film says to our hero Harry Kilmer, if you don't feel it, it doesn't exist.
In keeping with the principles of film noir and existentialism, in our film legality is for others and is casually set aside.
Harry has learned that law and law enforcement go only so far, and then personal judgment must come into play, and personal debts may take priority over legal restrictions.
Here we are dealing with how men conduct themselves in life and in business, and the code by which they live.
Friends turn to one another for help, and we focus on the themes of loyalty and trust, but especially a sense of debt or obligation the one might feel toward the other, and the lengths to which one will go to satisfy that debt.
While I enjoy the exploration of duty, friendship, trust and responsibility, I am more than willing to recognise the film has numerous flaws.
It is undeniable that the film is repetitive, contains verbose and unnecessarily lengthy exchanges of dialogue, and suffers from a convoluted, contrived and unclear plot that unfolds at a leisurely pace in places.
However, I do enjoy the depth of characterisation in the principal characters, the Japanese environment, the pervading sense of cultural displacement and mystery, the nagging sense of heartache leading to remorse, and the exploration of neo-noir or existential themes such as respect, giri, and the nature of morality, duty, and loyalty, elements of bushido, the code of ethics of the samurai who were the forebears of the modern yakuza.
Underpinning everything, and fundamental to the concept of giri, the Japanese cultural notion of duty, debt or obligation which is a driving force in nearly all the characters in the film, is existentialism and the idea that our lives, choices and actions impact the lives of others and we should recognise responsibility for that impact.
Of course, also fundamental to existentialism is the principle that morality does not exist.
It is entirely self-contained and, as one character in the film says to our hero Harry Kilmer, if you don't feel it, it doesn't exist.
In keeping with the principles of film noir and existentialism, in our film legality is for others and is casually set aside.
Harry has learned that law and law enforcement go only so far, and then personal judgment must come into play, and personal debts may take priority over legal restrictions.
Here we are dealing with how men conduct themselves in life and in business, and the code by which they live.
Friends turn to one another for help, and we focus on the themes of loyalty and trust, but especially a sense of debt or obligation the one might feel toward the other, and the lengths to which one will go to satisfy that debt.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
