Not only Hollywood is keeping an eye out for comicbook series or graphic novels to turn into movies – in Japan, that has been ongoing given the country’s rich manga culture to tap into. The latest and most popular here of the Japanese oeuvre were the Death Note movies and their spin off L: Change The World. The rule of thumb, of course, is to snag a heartthrob in your leading role, and you more or less have it made. In the review screening of Kurosagi, Tomohisa Yamashita’s popularity was measured by audible shrieks and wistful sighs each time he appeared on screen, even in the nerdiest of disguises.

Yamashita plays Kurosagi, a man whose family was destroyed by swindlers, hence his deep hatred for the group. He follows in the steps of Bruce Wayne, though more focused in his vigilantism, targeting only con artists in a Robin Hood-type bid to swindle them in turn and reimburse their respective victims.

For someone who hasn’t read the manga, or followed the television series, this movie is quite a challenge to follow. Granted a flashback was worked into it, but that only served to confuse the film’s entanglement with its chief villain Ishigaki Tetsu (Naoto Takenaka). Being a stand-alone movie, The Black Swindler tells of the dispicable acts Ishigaki commits in creating a bankruptcy fraud, and how Kurosagi has set his sights on him like a hunter after an extremely cunning prey.

For those without background knowledge, this film will pose many questions. For starters, almost all the female characters are treated as second class citizens, and despite the film’s slightly more than two hours’ runtime, not enough time is focused on them. They could, quite frankly, be done without as they matter to the plot not an iota. Then there’s the love-hate relationship that Kurosagi has for his informer/con-master Katsuragi. While they exchange frequent notes on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the play is hardly linked to, nor presents as a proper metaphor for, the trust they harp on about – either that or the essence of it all got lost in translation.

The scenes that require a lot more background knowledge tend to over-indulge themselves, hence severely alienating first-time visitors to Kurosagi. Some movies, like Bayside Shakedown, make it easy for non-fans/series followers to grasp and enjoy the ride, but The Black Swindler seems to have stamped itself strictly for those in the know (or fans of Tomohisa Yamashita). Unless, of course, you manage to pick through the whole of the television series first.

Stefan S.