Peanuts (1996) | Region-Free (DVD) | Directed by Takashi Miike

Title: Peanuts (1996)

Alternate Title: Rakkasei: Piinattsu

Genre: Action, Comedy

Plot Synopsis:
Two mysterious tough guys, Ryuji Hoshikawa and Kyotaro Ochiai, win money at the track but have some of their winnings swindled by Tetsu, a member of the Hyakkikai posing as a car dealer. Mr. Makimura, an elderly fish seller, cannot pay off his debts to the Hyakkikai, so he jumps in front of a car being driven by Ryuji and Kyotaro. They stop in time and help him by robbing a Hyakkikai gambling den and giving him most of the money to repay his debt. This act of defiance infuriates the local gang, leading to a series of confrontations.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Takashi Miike
• Writers: Jirō Asada (story), Masahide Motohashi, Tetsuo Inoue (screenplay)
• Cast:
  • Riki Takeuchi as Kyotaro Ochiai
  • Kōyō Maeda as Ryuji Hoshikawa
  • Kenji Imai as Kurogane clan boss
  • Hiroshi Katsuno
  • Mai Kitajima

IMDb Link:
Peanuts (1996)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Dave Jackson – ★★★☆☆
   “Peanuts is nothing special, but it is one of Takashi Miike’s better early efforts. It stars Riki Takeuchi, so you can’t go too wrong. Peanuts follows two ‘brothers’ (not blood related, just bros). As the one who’s not Riki Takeuchi (Koyo Maeda) tells us, they’re like peanuts – two nuts in the one shell. Okay? Okay. The two bad ass bros dress like old school gangsters. They’re super nice guys. They help an old guy out by robbing from the yakuza gang he owes money to. They give him the cash to pay off his debts. The yakuza is pissed, understandably, and send a detective to track them down. Lots of sub plots start flying about and come together neatly…”
2. BjorkShandy – ★★☆☆☆
   “Is the movie called Peanuts because it had little to no budget? It’s obvious that most of Peanuts’ budget went towards renting the Red Sports car which is only seen 3 times in the entire movie. I was shocked when I realised that Peanuts was only 1 hour 26 minutes long because it felt like I had been watching it for about 4 hours. On paper, Peanuts would sound like a classic Takashi Miike Yakuza film but really suffers due to the low budget. It would help if they had enough money to at least hire a decent editor. You will be watching the film then randomly it will cut to a close up of a girl’s face for a…”
3. burger enjoyer – ★★★½☆
   “Honestly surprisingly good for being this early in Miike’s career. Production value is obviously on the low end, but it’s still a decent little movie, well structured and acted. If you like Miike’s more feelgood crime films (e.g., Shangri-La) or just Riki Takeuchi in general, go for it.”

Meta Description:
“Peanuts” (1996), directed by Takashi Miike, is a Japanese action-comedy that follows two enigmatic men who, after aiding an elderly shop owner by robbing a yakuza gambling den, find themselves at odds with a local gang.