The Gentle Twelve

The Gentle Twelve (1991)

14 Dec 1991 • Comedy • 1h 56m
Loading...

This Japanese-language movie, which to my knowledge hasn't yet been released with subtitles or dubbing, is best regarded as a gentle parody of the 1957 Henry Fonda classic "12 Angry Men". (The title, which translates to "12 Gentle Japanese", makes this obvious.)Of course Japan doesn't have a jury system, so this is even more of a fantasy than it would have been. The performances are generally over-the-top, and it's rather hard to take any of it too seriously. But there are some nice humorous touches. Like the 1957 original, it is set almost entirely in a single room, and for the most part it parallels the original, with a few interesting twists. (In this one, all the jurors save one begin with an "innocent" vote)Not a great movie by any stretch, but pleasant enough. Very little that's original here, though--if you want an original Japanese movie, check out recent titles directed by Shohei Imamura, Hirokazu Kore-eda, or Takeshi Kitano.

Shun Nakahara
Director
Kôki Mitani
Writer
Kazuyuki Aijima, Michiko Hayashi, Zen Kajihara
Starring

Language: Japanese
Awards: 3 wins
Country: Japan
Metacritic Score:
DVD Release Date:
Box Office Total:

7.1

IMDb (281 votes)
Loading...