In Japan for the funeral of his long-lost love, a tough French detective learns that he also has a teenage daughter and that her life is in danger from the Yakuza.In Japan for the funeral of his long-lost love, a tough French detective learns that he also has a teenage daughter and that her life is in danger from the Yakuza.In Japan for the funeral of his long-lost love, a tough French detective learns that he also has a teenage daughter and that her life is in danger from the Yakuza.
Jean-Marc Montalto
- Olivier
- (as Jean Marc Montalto)
Michel Scourneau
- Van Eyck
- (as Mikhel Scourneau)
Yan Epstein
- Jean Baptiste 2
- (as Yann Epstein)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRyoko Hirosue didn't know a word of French; she learned all of her lines phonetically.
- GoofsAfter arriving in Tokyo, Hubert asks Momo to drive him to Shinjuku district to meet the lawyer. However, the following scene shows Hubert getting out of the car at Akihabara (the famous electronics shopping district) which is on the other side of Tokyo. This is evident by the iconic Akihabara pedestrian crossing under the green train bridge where he gets off. Later on, Hubert again leaves "Shinjuku" from what is clearly Akihabara and its electronics shops in the background.
- Quotes
Maurice 'Momo': How wonderful, Hubert. Let me look at you. You look good man, just arrived and already in deep shit.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Rental Reviews: Underrated Action Movies (2019)
- SoundtracksKorega Watashino Ikirumichi
Written by Tamio Okuda
Performed by Puffy AmiYumi
Remixed by Yasuharu Konishi
©Sony Music Artists Inc.
administré par Sony Music Publishing France
©1999 Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
avec l'aimable autorisation
de Sony Music Entertainment (France) S.A.
Featured review
not as cool as it wants to be but Reno is wonderful
`Wasabi' is a high-spirited French action comedy with a Japanese name. This Luc Besson production stars Jean Reno in a wonderful performance as a tough-guy French cop who is as quick to use his tongue as his overeager fists. One day, out of the blue, Detective Fiorentino discovers that he has a 19 year-old daughter by a Japanese woman who left him almost 20 years ago, breaking his heart in the process. The girl, Yumi, turns out to be an orange-haired free spirit who hates cops and has been led to believe that her father raped her mother. Much of the film is spent with Hubert and Yumi getting to know one another, as they uncover secrets about her mother's past that seem to have made the young woman the target of some rather unsavory characters.
The plot is the least of the matter in this film. As directed by Gerard Krawczyk, `Wasabi' is really all about style. Besson's screenplay is fitfully amusing, doling out cleverness and cutesyness in roughly equal measure. Cinematographer Gerard Sterin brings out the colorful richness of the urban Japanese landscape and editor Yanne Herve doesn't linger longer on the jokes and sight gags than is absolutely necessary. These elements help to compensate for the somewhat desperate air that afflicts the screenplay from time to time.
The prime asset of `Wasabi' is Jean Reno's performance. Reno perfectly mines the comic potential inherent in the material through the tone of weary cynicism and superiority to all around him that he conveys throughout. As an actor who has played this type of rogue-cop character many times in his career, Reno obviously relishes this opportunity for a little good-natured self-ribbing. And he does a splendid job.
`Wasabi' is little more than a piffle when all is said and done, but Reno makes it worth seeing.
The plot is the least of the matter in this film. As directed by Gerard Krawczyk, `Wasabi' is really all about style. Besson's screenplay is fitfully amusing, doling out cleverness and cutesyness in roughly equal measure. Cinematographer Gerard Sterin brings out the colorful richness of the urban Japanese landscape and editor Yanne Herve doesn't linger longer on the jokes and sight gags than is absolutely necessary. These elements help to compensate for the somewhat desperate air that afflicts the screenplay from time to time.
The prime asset of `Wasabi' is Jean Reno's performance. Reno perfectly mines the comic potential inherent in the material through the tone of weary cynicism and superiority to all around him that he conveys throughout. As an actor who has played this type of rogue-cop character many times in his career, Reno obviously relishes this opportunity for a little good-natured self-ribbing. And he does a splendid job.
`Wasabi' is little more than a piffle when all is said and done, but Reno makes it worth seeing.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Wasabi - The Japanese Dip That Kicks Like a Mule
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- €15,300,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $97,220
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $17,560
- Sep 29, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $10,366,360
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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