Wasabi is a 2001 movie directed by Gérard Krawczyk, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryoko Hirosue. In France it was released as Wasabi, la petite moutarde qui monte au nez ("Wasabi, the little mustard that gets right up your nose").
The film gets its title from a scene where the protagonist, Hubert Fiorentini (Reno), eats a whole serving of wasabi at a Japanese restaurant without flinching.
Plot summary
A woman (later revealed to be a transvestite) dancing provocatively to the enjoyment of other nightclub patrons is abruptly hit in the face by Hubert Fiorentini (Reno), a commisaire of the French Police. Fiorentini drags her/him out of the club in handcuffs, assaulting other patrons who come too close to free the captive woman or attempt to hinder his exit. Unfortunately, one of these patrons includes the Prefect's son.
Hubert Fiorentini is chastised for the violent and unorthodox methods that he uses to accomplish his goals and is put on paid leave from the force. Despite his success and his seemingly enjoyable lifestyle of fighting crime, playing golf, and being the object of a beautiful woman's (Bouquet's) attentions, he has been unable to forget his one true love, Miko, a Japanese spy he met 19 years prior. Upon receiving news of her death, he is summoned to Japan by her lawyer, Ishibashi (Hirata Haruhiko) for the reading of her will.
Ishibashi informs Fiorentini that he has inherited the guardianship of Yumi (Hirosue), a fiery, adorable and eccentric Japanese/French teenage girl over whom he has custody until she reaches adulthood in two days (the age of adulthood in Japan being 20). Yumi, who was led to believe she was the result of her mother's rape and subsequent abandonment, hates her unknown father. Hubert realizes Yumi is his daughter, but doesn't tell her as she would probably flee him.
Fiorentini uncovers evidence that Miko was the victim of foul play. He discovers that Miko had stolen a small fortune from the Yakuza, a fortune now destined for Yumi upon reaching adulthood. Fiorentini summons the help of Momo (Muller), a former intelligence colleague living in Tokyo. He helps Fiorentini with further investigations into Miko's death and in guarding Yumi from the Yakuza by supplying him with two metal suitcases of weapons.
Yumi discovers that Fiorentini is her father as she is captured by the Yakuza. With the help of former intelligence colleagues, Fiorentini and Momo free Yumi from her kidnappers when they attempt to withdraw money from Yumi's bank account. During the rescue attempt a gunfight breaks out and all of the Yakuza are killed without any casualties to the "good guys".
Following the ordeal, Fiorentini takes a flight back to France, having promised Yumi he would be back in a month. But just before the plane takes off, a group of customs officers enter the cabin with two familiar metal suitcases in hand, asking for their owner.
Cast
- Jean Reno as Hubert Fiorentini
- Ryoko Hirosue as Yumi Yoshimido
- Michel Muller as Maurice 'Momo'
- Carole Bouquet as Sofia
- Ludovic Berthillot as Jean-Baptiste #1
- Yan Epstein as Jean-Baptiste #2
- Michel Scourneau as Van Eyck
- Christian Sinniger as Squale
- Jean-Marc Montalto as Olivier
- Alexandre Brik as Irène
- Fabio Zenoni as Josy
- Véronique Balme as Betty
- Jacques Bondoux as Del Rio
- Yoshi Oida as Takanawa
- Haruhiko Hirata as Ishibashi
Trivia
Ryoko Hirosue does not speak real French. She learned her lines phonetically for the film.
Starshine, one of Gorillaz' less known songs, appears in the film.
There are some referrals to the movie Black Rain. For instance the whole "cop has to go to Japan because it's getting too hot in his precinct" and the midnight scene at the golf practice court.
Filming locations
Filming locations include:
External links
Review by Plume Noire
