I never understood why this movie got such bad reviews. I think it's because the people who watched it don't know much about Japanese society and how absolutely excruciating it can be! In Japan, you MUST be part of the group. As an individual, with your own free mind or choices, you're likely to get crushed.
In a way, this is what happens to all our "go nin", literally "five people". One can't make the transition from successful Japanese singer to nightclub owner (due to the Bubble bursting), another lost his job of 20 years. A third makes his living by extorting rich, homosexual man, but actually is homosexual himself (although he won't let anyone know, wearing a mask of kinds). One is a pimp who actually loves one of the girls he should look after, eventually leading to both their demise. And the last is a cop that went to jail for something he didn't do, losing his job and family that meant so much to him.
Society has taken from these men. It made them outcasts.
Now you have to remember that the Yakuza started as exactly that! A group of people the feudal Japanese society shunned for their jobs, who in return formed groups to protect themselves. So what irony is it then that a group of outcast robs another group of outcasts? And is finally hunted down by a homosexual hitman couple in a dom/sub relationship, also being outcasts themselves.
From its excellent soundtrack to the beautiful, gritty way it is filmed, Gonin to me stands far above most of Kitano's other movies. I do like Brother and the Outrage saga is great. But Gonin, although hardly having Kitano in many scenes is the strongest of them all, probably because it goes against all mainstream and rules. I can definitely recommend this movie.
