''Border Line'' is a 2002

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, and the feature film debut of Korean-Japanese

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Sang-il Lee. It observes the lives of three un-related characters, a son, a father and a mother, each of whom has a troubled family background. The film is largely a character study, structured in a style of a

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

movie, showing a number of different sub-plots unfold over the course of a few days. The shooting-style adopted is often similar to that of

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

. The cast includes Tetsu Sawaki (Shuji Matsuda, the 17-year-old high school student),

Yumi Asō , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese actress. She is a niece of singer Chiyo Okumura. She married actor in March 2004, and they had one child. The couple separated less than two years later, and officially divorced in 2008. Biography ...

(Aikawa, the convenience store clerk),

Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Chaos'' and '' Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *'' Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *'' Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *'' Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981) *''Tora-san, the Ex ...

(the middle-aged

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

), and

Jun Murakami is a Japanese actor. He is not to be confused with Japanese stunt actor Jun Murakami. Career Murakami starred in Sho Miyake's ''Playback'' (2012). He co-starred in Sion Sono's '' The Land of Hope'' (2012) with Megumi Kagurazaka. He has also a ...

(Kurosawa, the taxi driver).

Plot

The film opens with Matsuda being uncooperative at school. A radio broadcast reveals that he then murders his father and runs away on his bike. The next morning a drunken Kurosawa runs him over in his taxi. Feeling guilty about the accident, he is soon driving Matsuda to northern Japan. Matsuda remains uncommunicative and unfriendly. Aikawa is a convenience store clerk with a son at elementary school and a husband who has abandoned the family after losing his job. Her son fakes illness to avoid school. She later discovers that he is being bullied. She becomes increasingly stressed by financial and family worries, and eventually attempts a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

and kidnaps one of her son's bullies to teach him a lesson. The middle-aged Yakuza finds that his partner has stolen his boss's money to pay for an operation for his daughter. He is given one week to find his partner and recover the money. He finds and reluctantly executes him, only to steal the money himself and give it to the widow. He saves Matsuda from suicide, and, recognizing another troubled person on the run, invites him to stay with him at the deserted house he is using. The pair form a friendship like father and son. However, the gangsters track him down and kill him. Matsuda goes to

Hakodate, Hokkaido is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

to trace the Yakuza's estranged daughter, now earning money as a prostitute. At the end of the film, Kurosawa appears in Hokkaido, carrying a middle-aged female passenger in his taxi. She meets Matsuda on the beach. She may be his mother.

External links

* 2002 films 2000s Japanese-language films Films directed by Sang-il Lee Yakuza films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub