Princes of the Yen

Nov 5, 2014

1h 33m

★ 7.3

Only power that is hidden, is power that endures.

Overview

Set in 20th Century Japan the documentary explores the role and power of Central Banks and how they can be used to change a country's economic political and social structures A documentary adaption off the book by Professor Richard Werner.

Genres

Documentary

Crime

Production Companies

Queuepolitely

Sideways Film

Princes of the Yen Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator

Andrew Piper

Self (archive Footage)

Richard Werner

Self

Noriko Yamagiwa

Barely scraping by making an honest living as a rural yakuza, Hachiya (Yasukaze Motomiya) dreams of the City of Flowers. Unable to conceal their growing frustration at their everyday lives, he and his partner, Sagane (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), choose to pursue their own paths as yakuza, hiding a new major source of income from the family. But when the family captain (Kazuyoshi Ozawa) shows up for the first time in ten years...

7.8

Free Lunch Society

May 5, 2017

What would you do if your basic income was taken care of month after month? Would you stop working? Follow your passions? Take more risks? The four-figure sum that all four members of the Wardwell family receive each year from the Alaskan government’s crude oil profits goes towards a college fund for their children, something they would otherwise be unable to afford. Filmmaker Christian Tod, himself a fervent supporter of the idea, explores the model of an unconditional basic income and takes a look at trial systems already underway in the US, Canada and Namibia. Wandering the history of this utopia reminiscent of science fiction he eventually ends up in Switzerland, where the new system was voted on in 2016. In this multifaceted and highly entertaining documentary, Tod broaches life’s existential questions and fuels the debate on one of the most prevalent economic topics of our generation.

5.6

Fascism Inc.

Apr 10, 2014

Unknown short stories from the past, the present and the future of fascism and its relation to the economic interests of each era. We will travel from Mussolini’s Italy to Greece under the Nazi occupation, the civil war and the dictatorship; and from Hitler’s Germany to the modern European and Greek fascism.

8.0

A Bad Summer

Mar 20, 2025

Sasaki is a sincere civil servant, working at city hall. Due to his timid personality, he can't properly deal with nasty people, including a single mother on the verge of giving up her own child, another civil servant pressing him to have a physical relationship, and a person who receives welfare benefits unfairly. His passivity leads him to get caught up in a terrible crime.

6.1

Tattoo

Apr 4, 2002

Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.

7.5

Sonatine

Sep 10, 1993

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

7.4

The Castle of Sand

Oct 19, 1974

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

8.0

Onihei Crime Files: Sutegoro Takahagi

Jun 18, 2010

Takahagi Sutegoro is highly skilled at casing locations for thieves so that he can sell detailed floor plans to them. He suffers an injury to his leg while trying to help a parent and a child being threatened by samurai. Heizo jumps in and chases the samurai away. Feeling indebted to Heizo, Sutegoro decides to become his spy. Now, together they will try to stop scheming Myogi Danemon’s gang of merciless thieves...

No Image Available

6.5

Violated Paradise

Jun 7, 1963

A modern geisha travels through Japan trying to find a job as entertainer, and ends up by finding love and a job as ama, a pearl diver.

7.1

The Yakuza

Dec 21, 1974

When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.

6.9

Kids Return

Jul 27, 1996

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.

9.0

Empire City

Jul 1, 1985

A film essay contrasting the modern metropolis with its "golden age" from 1830-1930, with the participation of some of New York's leading political and cultural figures. Made at a time when the city was experiencing unprecedented real estate development on the one hand and unforeseen displacement of population and deterioration on the other. Empire City is the story of two New Yorks. The film explores the precarious coexistence of the service-based midtown Manhattan corporate headquarters with the peripheral New York of undereducated minorities living in increasing alienation.

7.0

A Scarred Life 2: Blood Will Tell

Jan 22, 1972

President of the territorial yakuza organization is being manipulated by a crooked leader in the military and some capitalists Ishikiri. The plan is to get multiple family of the organized crime groups based in Osaka to war it out and order the Shima to the Onishi group of the branch to expand the territory. Now members of the same yakuza gang are forced to fight each other over territory and honor.

7.2

Collapse

Sep 12, 2009

From the acclaimed director of American Movie, the documentary follows former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter Michael Ruppert. He recounts his career as a radical thinker and spells out his apocalyptic vision of the future, spanning the crises in economics, energy, environment and more.

7.1

Peace

Jan 5, 2010

What is peace? What is coexistence? And what are the basis for them? PEACE is a visual-essay-like observational documentary, which contemplates these questions by observing the daily lives of people and cats in Okayama city, Japan, where life and death, acceptance and rejection are intermingled.

7.4

SPEC: Close~Incarnation

Nov 1, 2013

Mysteries are revealed like the words "Simple Plan," "Third Secret of Fatima" and also the mysterious white man which are all mentioned in the movie "SPEC: Heaven".

6.2

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

Nov 4, 2005

This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.

0.0

A Day in Tokyo

Jan 1, 1968

A Day in TOKYO in 1968, Nostalgic bygone era. Planned by Japan National Tourism Organization. Produced by Koga Production. This film was produced to explain Tokyo for foreign tourists.

0.0

Ainu Neno An Ainu

Jun 1, 2021

This documentary started as part of a photography project about the indigenous Ainu population in northern Japan, portraying people from tightly knit communities. They feel deeply connected by their culture and tradition. With gorgeous pictures, the directors explore how different generations of Ainu reflect on their identity after centuries of oppression.

7.1

Adrenaline Drive

Feb 18, 1999

A gas leak explosion at a yakuza hideout provides a shy nurse and a rental car clerk with the opportunity to take a briefcase full of money. A cross-country chase ensues.

Princes of the Yen

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Princes of the Yen Trailers