Tonpachi (2008)

Overview

Struggling pink-film actor Hajime Sato (Kazuyoshi Ozawa) lands his first role in a mainstream movie “Tokyo’s Shadow”, only to have his overacted performance cut out by producer Kasahara (Hitoshi Ozawa). Back in the world of adult films, director Nomura (Kenichi Endo) berates him for not understanding real acting, and his ex-wife nags him over late child support. Just then, Hajime runs into an old acting buddy, Hachi Kamei (Yasukaze Motomiya), who now lives large in the yakuza world. Desperate for money, Hajime takes up Hachi’s offer of a “perfect role”—posing as a yakuza to collect debts. With his knack for performance, Hajime nails the job, one after another. Meanwhile, Hachi schemes recklessly to make his mark in the underworld, dragging Hajime into a dangerous plan that could cost him his real acting career…