EIGHTEEN YEARS IN PRISON

EIGHTEEN YEARS IN PRISON uses the genre backdrops of a yakuza epic and prison story as a set dressing to explore a post-war country at its darkest. Kawada and Tsukada run afoul of the military police after stealing valuable copper wire. Kawada is arrested and sent to prison, but Tsukada uses their gains to start a yakuza gang. Facing violent inmates and a cruel warden, Kawada vows to escape and stop his former partner. Tai Kato directs this with characteristic visual flair, while gangster-turned-actor Ando delivers a stunning performance charged with real-life gravitas. As an examination of the deep scars of wartime, this genre classic is also a clear precursor to Kinji Fukasaku's epoch-making BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY series.