Wasabi (film)
| Wasabi | |
|---|---|
French film poster
|
|
| Directed by | Gérard Krawczyk |
| Produced by | Luc Besson |
| Written by | Luc Besson |
| Starring |
Jean Reno Ryōko Hirosue Michel Muller Carole Bouquet |
| Music by |
Éric Serra Julien Schultheis |
| Cinematography | Gerard Stérin |
| Edited by | Yann Hervé |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
Europa Corp (France) Destination Films (International) |
|
Release date
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October 31, 2001 |
|
Running time
|
94 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French Japanese |
| Box office | $10,366,360 |
Wasabi is a 2001 French action-comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and written and produced by Luc Besson. The film stars Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryōko 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"). In South Korea, the title was mistranslated to Leon: the professional 2.
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.
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 Florentini (Reno), a commisaire of the French Police. Florentini drags her 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 chief's son.
Hubert Florentini 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 (Haruhiko Hirata) for the reading of her will.
Ishibashi informs Florentini 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 from him.
Florentini 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. Florentini summons the help of Momo (Michel Muller), a former intelligence colleague living in Tokyo. He helps Florentini with further investigations into Miko's death and in guarding Yumi from the Yakuza by supplying him with two metal suitcases of weapons. The Yakuza try to attack Yumi in an arcade, but Florentini, who has been observing their positions, kills all of them.
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