With TIFF gearing up for next month, Deadline is reporting that XYZ Films will handle U.S. sales for a pair of Japanese genre pics, including Takashi Miike's newest, YAKUZA APOCALYPSE. Let's hope that means a release date will be slated for the flick soon!
Also in the missive is how XYZ has partnered with Nikkatsu to handle sales of manga-inspired genre flick TOKYO TRIBE, the latest from COLD FISH director Sion Sono. We've not followed TOKYO TRIBE that closely here at AITH, but it sounds pretty worthy, as it chronicles futuristic gang wars waged between thugs who battle through violence and rap. My kinda flick!
As for YAKUZA APOCALYPSE, here's the setup:
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura, who is the most powerful Yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times but has never died. He is called the invincible person. Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the Yakuza. His colleagues treat him like an idiot; Akira can't even get tattoos because of his sensitive skin. Akira becomes disappointed in the Yakuza world because it's not like what they say in the movies, especially in terms of loyalty and charity depicted of the Yakuza. An assassin is then sent to take out Genyo Kamiura, whom the killers know is a vampire.
Nikkatsu will deal with the international sales of both pics, with XYZ overseeing North America. Stay tuned for more, including potential reviews for both flicks out of TIFF.
TOKYO TRIBE star Hitomi Katayama