''Monday'' is a 2000

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

thriller

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 ...

directed by Sabu. The film was featured at the 2000

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and won the

FIPRESCI Award The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

"for its austere, dark wit and keen eye for human foibles."

Plot

Takagi (Shinichi Tsutsumi), a seemingly average Japanese businessman, wakes up in a hotel room but doesn't know how he wound up there. When a packet of "purification salt" falls out of his pocket, he starts having memories of a funeral and a meeting with a

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 ...

boss. Soon he finds out he is in deep trouble.

Cast

Shin'ichi Tsutsumi is a Japanese stage and screen actor. Internationally, he is best known for his roles as Koichi Takagi in the ''Monday'' films, Tetsuya Ishigami in the ''Suspect X'' films, and Jo Sawashiro in '' Yakuza: Like a Dragon.'' In Japan, he is best kno ...

as Koichi Takagi *

Yasuko Matsuyuki is a Japanese actress and singer signed to Stardust Promotion. Biography Yasuko Matsuyuki was born in 1972 in Tosu, Saga. In 1989, while she was in high school, Matsuyuki won a Non-no fashion magazine contest. After graduating from Tosu Comme ...

as Yuko Kirishima *

Ren Ohsugi , born was a Japanese actor. For his work in ''Cure'', ''Hana-bi'' and other films, Osugi was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1999 Yokohama Film Festival. He often worked alongside Takeshi Kitano and Susumu Terajima. In the DVD comme ...

as Murai Yoshio *

Masanobu Andō is a Japanese actor. Ando has appeared in films such as Takeshi Kitano's ''Kids Return'' (1996), Kinji Fukasaku's '' Battle Royale'' (2000), Takashi Miike's ''Sukiyaki Western Django'' (2007), and Chen Kaige's ''Forever Enthralled'' (2008). He a ...

as Mitsuo Kondo * Hideki Noda as Shingo Kamiyama * Akira Yamamoto as Kiichiro Hanai *

Naomi Nishida is an actress. She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2001 Yokohama Film Festival and at the 25th Hochi Film Award for her performance in ''Nabbie's Love''. Personal life She married a Japanese shoe designer in 2005, and gave birth to a ...

as Yuki Machida *

Susumu Terajima is a Japanese actor. Though he has played a wide range of characters, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of ''yakuza'' figures, most notably in the films of Takeshi Kitano. Terajima made his acting debut in 1986's ''A Homansu''. He ...

as Saburô Nakano

Reception

The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' found that "'Monday' has some of Sabu’s sharpest satire" and "offers a lot of stylish parody as it tracks the increasingly grim trajectory of the salaryman’s lost weekend." Derek Elley in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that "Sabu makes a stunning return to form with "Monday," his fourth and best movie to date."

References

External links

* 2000s Japanese-language films 2000 films Films directed by Sabu Yakuza films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub