This is an astonishing film. Minimal, avoiding any kind of romanticism to take the edge off the violence, it pushes and pulls you several ways at once. You want to identify with the protagonist and his henchmen, and they can often be amusingly human, but they are also so emotionless and cold-blooded, even concerning their own, that it gives you the chills. You always have the sense of a sophisticated eye in the shots, as if Kurosawa is looking over the director's shoulder. It is an absolutely beautiful work. Takeshi Kitano is a master of the close shot. It seems that almost every moment of violence occurs when the antagonists are within arm's length, even when it is with guns. The showdown in a crowded elevator is a masterpiece of tension mixed with cool hipness. On top of all of this, there is a powerful allegorical subtext about pivot points in life and the necessity of choice. Why aren't more people in the US talking about this film?