
Pachinko pro Katsuya Takamura, piling up the cash boxes, plays relentlessly for the sole purpose of making money. An elderly man sitting next to him suddenly berates him. It was the legendary pin-tuner, Namioka. One day, a cheat appeared at the pachinko parlour run by Kaori’s father, whom Namioka dotes on like a grandson. Kizuki, the mastermind behind the cheat, uses modified ROM chips and walkie-talkies to force the parlour to close. Burdened with debt, Kaori’s father has no choice but to accept Kizuki’s proposal. It is a pachinko gambling match. What’s more, his opponent is Katsuya. Namioka and Kaori look down on Katsuya, who has accepted this challenge for a huge sum of money. A ruthless battle begins!!
Directed by Shūji Kataoka, パチンコ放浪記 leans on a strong ensemble — David Ito, 小栗華織, Yuji Abe — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2003.
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Kaiji Ito moves to Japan after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, vandalizing cars, and drinking booze. Two years later and his life is no better. A debt collector named Endo arrives to collect money owed. The debt collector offers two choices to Kaiji: spend 10 years paying off his loan or board a gambling boat for one night to repay his debt & possibly make a boat load of money. Could the debt collector Endo actually be setting up Kaiji? One way or another, for Kaiji it's going to be the night of his life.
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