Shinjuku Incident

In the 90s, most of the economy in China is still poor. This is perhaps not so obvious in big cities like Shanghai or Beijing, but for residents in rural areas and small towns never did taste the internet or a computer, even watching TV was a rare thing for them. In search of better living, much of the population of China decided to try his luck and crossed over to Japan. The risks are certainly greater. In addition to flee from the border police of China and Japan, they also have to jostle in the boat and crossed over to Japan. Up in Japan though, the language is still a constraint. The film is directed by Derek Yee who is trying to highlight the lives of Chinese immigrants squeezed by the Japanese Yakuza.


Plot
Steelhead worries when he hears his girlfriend Xiu Xiu disappear in Tokyo. After considering it carefully, Steelhead is finally decided to follow Xiu Xiu to Japan. When he flees from the border police in China, the documents owned by Steelhead accidentally left behind. Meaning, he has no more right to return to his hometown. Aware of that fact, Steelhead is trying desperately to adapt to living in Tokyo.

When he is in Japan, Steelhead just realizes that Chinese immigrants living far from feasible. They are often forced to work hard with salaries far below the standard. It’s still good. Many are forced to work as thieves, criminals, and involve in the Japan’s underworld. Steelhead is an honest and very upholds the principles and moral. But then, he would soon realize that the principles and moral have no value in Tokyo. In order to survive, Steelhead asks the Chinese people to unite against the Yakuza and the Taiwan.


Conclusion
The Shinjuku Incident is the darkest movie of Jackie Chan that I’ve ever seen so far. Do not expect action comedy scenes ala Jackie Chan as his other movies. In the past, he played in a serious action movies such as New Police Story and a family comedy like Rob-B-Hood, now, Jackie Chan is trying a new thing in The Shinjuku Incident. In this film, Jackie Chan is totally appearing to act without showing his acrobatic moves at all. In fact, he is acting as a person who doesn’t know how to fight.

If you are a fan of Jackie Chan’s films, watching The Shinjuku Incident will probably give you a different perspective about this martial arts star.

Cast:
Jackie Chan as Steelhead
Naoto Takenaka as Inspector Kitano
Daniel Wu as Jie
Jinglei Xu as Xiu Xiu / Yuko Eguchi
Masaya Katô as Toshinari Eguchi
Tôru Minegishi as Koichi Muranishi

Writers: Tung-Shing Yee, Tin Nam Chun

Director: Tung-Shing Yee

Runtime: 120 min