Making its North American Premiere for the 30th edition of Fantasia Festival is the new yakuza crime comedy, Break Free, which had its World Premiere at the 30th edition of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival last week. It stars Akito Fujii whose credits include hit Netflix series “Last Samurai Standing” and fellow Fantasia prospect Tokyo Burst: Crime City, here now playing a gangster forced to dance his way through his newfound problems.
Break Free is directed by Yu Nakamoto who came on our radar a wee back with Kuchisake-Onna!, or The Slit-Mouthed Woman as it’s been titled since then. While that particular film remains viewing on my end, Break Free is still poised to garner an audience at Fantasia which kicks off this week, and we also have a teaser to mark the occasion. This all comes as the film continues to chart its course at the festivals ahead of a commercial Japan release to be announced for 2027.
Read the festival notes below and catch the teaser!
A YAKUZA ENFORCER BUSTS SOME MEAN MOVES IN THE HILARIOUS BREAK FREE
With new restrictive laws and increasingly aggressive rivals, the Mikami yakuza clan is on the brink of collapse. While searching for new sources of income with his colleagues, the tough but tenderhearted Kunio is filmed during an altercation with an arrogant passer-by, but the ban on attacking civilians forces him to intimidate the man with a surreal dance that goes viral on TikTok. He then decides to take dance lessons to capitalize on this popularity and bring in some cash for his gang. Director and screenwriter Yu Nakamoto (THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN RISES) makes the most of this premise and delivers one of the funniest comedies of the year. Thanks to a mind-blowing performance by Akito Fujii (BABY ASSASSINS: 2BABIES), BREAK FREE is packed with unforgettable, ridiculous scenes in which a yakuza, used to kicking ass, must hide his real job and intimidating demeanor to conquer the web. North American Premiere.
