Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #118. Yakuza Princess – Vicente Amorim

Yakuza Princess

Brazil’s Vicente Amorim is poised for a busy 2020, with three completed projects jockeying for a premiere. At the top of our list is his Japanese-Brazilian production Yakuza Princess, produced by LG Tubaldini, Jr., and Andre Skaf. Japanese-American singer/actress Masumi is making her debut with a cast including Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Tsuyoshi Ihara (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Kenny Leu (Midway). The title is lensed by Gustavo Hedba (The Great Mystical Circus, 2018). Amorim is perhaps best known to US audiences for his 2008 WWII drama Good, which starred Viggo Mortensen. His 2003 title The Middle of the World competed in San Sebastian. Apart from Yakuza Princess, Amorim should also see his thriller The Division and drama Duetto, starring Giancarlo Giannini, find festival play in 2020.

Gist: Adapted from the Brazilian graphic novel Samurai Shiro by Danilo Beyruth, a Japanese gang boss is killed, his only heiress sent to live abroad. Twenty years later, she discovers her inheritance and plots vengeance against those who wronged her father.

Release Date/Prediction: Amorim’s Yakuza Princess is in post-production and we anticipate an out-of-competition premiere at Cannes prior to its programming at various genre festivals including Fantasia and Sitges.