Rififi in Tokio

I saw this movie as a pre-teen at a Saturday matinee. I was an uncritical movie watcher until I saw this dud, the first movie I did not like. I lost the drift of the plot and didn't know what was going on. Can't recall if it was dubbed or subtitled. In either case, I thought it was terrible.

Why write a review of a movie from a kid's point of view? Because the experience was memorable, in a bad way. And more than sixty years later, I still wish I hadn't seen it.

Rififi in Tokyo, based on a novel by writer Auguste Le Breton, is a slow going heist film that picks up in the final third.

A group of French criminals come to Tokyo to pull a bank job. Of course, complications abound. The territorial yakuza kills one of the out-of-towners. A retired hood must be convinced to come back to the game for one last job. The team's electronic specialist, a civilian doing this one job, brings along his unknowing wife to Tokyo. A love triangle develops. An ambitious brother and sister are part of the gang, wanting money to break away from their traditional Japanese parents. Then, there is the troublesome yakuza. Not all of these plot threads are equally interesting and at least one is left hanging at film's end.

The film has its strength. Charles Vanel adds gravity playing the older, weary leader of the gang. His scenes inside the bank give the film its heart. The Tokyo setting make a nice change of pace. A shootout with the yakuza provides thrills. Finally, the heist brings the film to a satisfying close.

Rififi in Tokyo is not up there with the best of the genre. It lacks both the character depth of Bob the Gambler or The Second Breath and the stinging irony of, say, The Killing. The film is just a modest heist movie which entertains enough, mostly thanks to the last third, to make for worthwhile viewing.

It's unfortunate that this gem is so little known, which I'm sure is due in part to its attempt to trade on the name of the original 1955 Rififi, a genuine certified masterpiece. Still this is a very satisfying caper film in its own right, combining the hard-bitten characters and no-nonsense tone of the earlier Rififi with a target that would not be out-of-place in many recent thrillers, namely a high-tech bank vault in Tokyo. I was fortunate enough to see this on a double bill with Un Homme est Mort (The Outside Man), Jacques Deray's existential French-hitman-in-Los-Angeles picture, which is also highly recommended.

Rififi in Tokyo can be described as an intelligent heist film which has necessary elements to keep viewers glued to their seats.It is an intelligent film as all its mysteries have been nicely explained.For this reason,any viewer with questions would not be disappointed as they have all been answered in a right manner.What makes this film special is that one has to watch it carefully until the end to understand how even the greatest of criminal minds fail to achieve success for which they have dedicated all their time and resources.Although it is set in Tokyo,director Jacques Deray ensures that it does not suffer from any kind of exotic hangover which can make viewers lose interest in the film.He has given equal importance to all characters regardless of their saying their lines in Japanese or French.The portrayal of Japanese mafia as vicious criminals who would not stop at anything to prevent their rivals from achieving success appears to be authentic as they are shown to have made considerable gains.Although there are two minor sub plots in this film,overall narrative plan of the film is not disturbed as the film does not deviate at all from its story telling path.Lastly,Rififi in Tokyo is a film for you if you wish to see old aspects of Tokyo especially of a time when it was not a very crowded city.