Yōichi Sai

Kamui (2009)

A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family. ...

The Short Films: We Were All Once Children (2008)

A dream collaboration between five directors who represent the modern Japanese film industry! An omnibus work composed of five short films has been created. "The Short Films: We Were All Once Children." The theme that runs through the five short films is " ...

Soo (2007)

Tae-soo tries to steal from a gang. The gang catches Tae-Soo's brother, Tae-Jin, instead. The incident causes the brothers to separate. Tae-Soo becomes a mob fixer and an assassin. Tae-Jin becomes a police detective. When a call brings the brothers togethe ...

Blood and Bones (2004)

In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in his poor Korean-Japanese community expl ...

Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (2004)

A Labrador retriever named Quill begins specialized training as a guide dog from an early age, then the canine is paired with a blind man who is initially reluctant to rely on his new partner. ...

Doing Time (2002)

A man serving a sentence in a minimum-security prison. Life in the jail is rigid and organized, eventually leading all of the cell-mates to abandon their individuality. ...

The Pig's Retribution (1999)

A virginal boy travels with three hookers to a small island to collect his estranged father's washed up and sun-bleached bones. ...

Dog Race (1998)

Ethnically Korean Japanese filmmaker Yoichi Sai directs this madcap crime comedy. Nakayama (Goro Kishitani) is a suave police detective who doesn't play by the rules. He busts a drug ring, but not before sampling a few of the wares, and he closes down an u ...

MARKS (1995)

Assistant police inspector Aida is assigned to investigate the murder of a former gang member. When a justice ministry official is killed days later in a similar manner, he begins to suspect that something bigger is going on... ...

Heisei Irresponsible Family: Tokyo de Luxe (1995)

The members of the Ameya family are all scammers. After their election scheme goes bust in their hometown, they move from Shikoku to Tokyo and resume their fraudulent activities. Everything carries on smoothly until the eldest and the fourth sons' modus op ...

All Under the Moon (1993)

A Korean taxi-driver interacts both humorously and tragically with his customers and employers in '90s Tokyo. ...

Burning Dog (1991)

A gang of thieves plot to rob a US military base in Okinawa, but rising tensions in the group threaten to put the plan in jeopardy. ...

Via Okinawa (1989)

During the Vietnam War era, the influx of American soldiers to Okinawa boosted the local economy and introduced many bars and nightclubs. With exhausting displays of energy, Sai presents a whirlwind romance between a local rocker and the daughter of a mixe ...

The Glorious Asuka Gang! (1988)

In the year 199X, on the dark, shady streets of New Kabuki Town, the free-for-all between gangs of young delinquents and a corrupt police force is further complicated by the appearance of a mysterious girl named Asuka. ...

The Lady in a Black Dress (1987)

A woman named Fujiki Asuka arrives as an acquaintance of a sister in law for a day under the bar master Tamura who had guided Yakuza's escaping as a shoji. Tamura who lives on the second floor of the store for the time being the son who wants to work here. ...

Love Story (1986)

TBS Wednesday Drama Special about a young assistant in love with an older man who works as a photographer. ...

Let Him Rest in Peace (1985)

A man returns to his seaside roots to confront a yakuza boss. Along the way, he charms young men, softens a hard woman and busts a few heads. ...

Someday, Someone Will Be Killed (1984)

While trying to search for her missing father, Atsuko Moriya meets a group of outcasts that help her. Having only an encrypted disk in her possession and while being chased by unknown people, Atsuko tries to solve the mystery of her family origins. ...

Dansen (1983)

Based on crime fiction novel written by Seicho Matsumoto. ...

Sexual Crime (1983)

Three people whose lives have taken a turn for the worse retreat into a world of erotic dreams made flesh in this drama from director Sai Yoichi. An executive with a large industrial corporation finds his job and his future is on the line when his firm is ...

The Mosquito on the Tenth Floor (1983)

A lower-middle-class policeman lives decadently, chasing cheap beer and girls at the same time he's running from loan sharks and his personal expectations. ...

The Night of Martial Law (1980)

No Grave for Us (1979)

A plot to steal money from gangsters leads to trouble... ...

The Killing Game (1978)

The second movie of Tôru Murakawa's "Game" trilogy. After making a sensational hit, a hitman has gone into hiding for five years. When he comes back he bumps into two women that he has spared five years ago. Two rival yakuza bosses hire Narumi to kill the ...

The Most Dangerous Game (1978)

The first movie of Tôru Murakawa's "Game" trilogy, in which an assassin hired to recover a kidnap victim becomes embroiled in a vicious power struggle between two large corporations over a sizable government defence contract. ...

Kitamura Tokoku: My Winter Song (1977)

This biopic is centered on New Year's Day of 1894, when Kitamura is recovering from a suicide attempt. Japan is then under the spell of fervent patriotism because the government wants to build up public support for a war with China. Kitamura's literary fri ...

Bastard on the Border (1976)

The United States celebrates its bicentennial. The film depicts the history of a rebellious nation that has been overshadowed by the authentic history of the U.S., including slums, Vietnam veterans, incarcerated Nikkei, and indigenous peoples. ...

In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship. ...

Route 225 (2006)

Two kids, fourteen-year-old Eriko and her thirteen-year-old brother Daigo, suddenly find themselves trapped in a parallel universe. Most things are the same as in their own world, but their parents are missing from home and are only contactable when using ...

In the Realm of the Senses: Recalling the Film (2003)

Documentary about the making of Nagisa Oshima's 1976 film. ...

Taboo (1999)

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozabu ...

The Stairway to the Distant Past (1995)

Broke, with his vintage Nash convertible repossessed, private eye Mike Hama is reduced to combing the mean streets of the Yokohama waterfront on a borrowed bicycle. But when Lily, a beautiful stripper from out of Hama's past, returns to town, the fuse is l ...

N45゜ (1994)

Omnibus film, set in a fictional town at 45゜N latitude: Wonder Rubbish; Pao-san to no fukushu; Jonetsu no koya; Kaze wa, dotchi ni fuite iru ...

All Under the Moon (1993)

A Korean taxi-driver interacts both humorously and tragically with his customers and employers in '90s Tokyo. ...