1998's Mobster's Confessions finds him in a slightly different gear. While it does have yakuza, it is more of a con film and its protagonist is a fairly successful schemer who finds himself at the whim of the mob. And, as in Rokuro Mochizuki's yakuza trilogy films, Mobster's Confessions explores the central idea of a criminal (possibly) in love but divided over maintaining his passions or his law breaking lifestyle. Mochizuki also finds room for a more comical tone amid the drama and crime.

Jiro (Shunsuke Matsuoka) is a young con man who has been running a profitable scam. Taking advantage of an economic downturn, he shows up at the doorstep of small businesses under the pretense that he is an independent investigator sent by contractors to file a report. In return for a good report, the business owners give him payoffs. It is in the process of doing one such scam that Jiro runs into Kumiko (Amiko Kanaya), a business owner's troubled step-daughter, and forced lover, who he prostitutes out in order to pay off his mob debts.

Despite having a rule of not getting involved with anyone, Jiro and Kumiko become a pair. Jiro lands in hot water when his ruse is uncovered by the yakuza that half-own his current scam target. The mob decides to use Jiro's talents and force him to do business with them, taking over most of his profits, assigning him a yakuza bodyguard, Jay (Shingo Tsurumi), and insist that Jiro take on bigger scams. Rather than keeping tabs on Jiro for his bosses, the exuberant but clueless Jay ends up falling for the ‟love‟ affair between Jiro and Kumiko and becomes Jiro's right hand man. As Jiro embarks on a complex scam, and double-cross, he ends up having to use Kumiko to service one of the investors he's swindling, leading to conflicting feelings for the confidence man.

Mobster's Confessions is an interesting film. Notice I didn't say good. It definitely wins points for some of its third act twists and turns and the loveable lunacy of the supporting role of Jay, which is far too briefly explored. I guess the real failing point is in the central relationship. Common in Japanese genre pictures, the emotionally and physically tortured Kumiko is another sad characterization of a sexually brutalized female turned nympho object. While there is some tenderness between them, since Jiro doesn't exactly trust anyone and uses Kumiko for his own gain, he seems more possessive of her than in love with her. Maybe it's the actor, maybe it's the script, but Jiro is never ingratiating. The con-game also feels like it could have been better explored. Mobster's Confessions only skims the surface, so it's not exactly The Grifters. Mochizuki seems a little too content to play, never quite nailing the love story, committing to the finesse of the con life, and veers from comic to tragic asides rather bluntly. There are a lot of good minor moments, but the overall execution feels messy and unfocused.

The DVD: Artsmagic.

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Pretty much like all of Mochizuki's mid-90's releases, the transfer is good considering the fair, budget material. The picture is a bit bright and soft, but the print is at least on the clean side. Contrast doesn't have the deepest shadow detail or black levels. The colors appear lively and rich.

Sound: 5.1 or 2.0 Surround, Japanese language with optional English subtitles. Jiro does a lot of voice over narration, which leans towards some quick rhythm's for the subtitles. A decent mix with minimal surround activity. The 5.1 channel adds a little bombast to the score.

Extras: Bio/Filmographies.— The Song. Background info about a song Jiro is fond of singing.— Interview with director Rokuro Mochizuki (24:32). Artsmagic obviously spent an afternoon interviewing him for several releases. He's a very good subject. On every disc, I've listened to him have something new to expound on and tell about each film and his overall work ethic. Interesting that they must have asked him about future projects: on another release he talks about wanting to make a youth film with girls, and on this one he says he wants to make a WW2 era pink film.— Commentary by midnighteye and Japanese film writer/columnist Tom Mes. I've listened to several Mes commentaries and he's always pretty good, getting into the basics of the actors and filmmaker, as well as the genre. For my taste, there were too many ‟and in this scene‟ plot specific comments, but it is worth a listen.

Conclusion: So far I've watched and reviewed every Rokuro Mochizuki Artsmagic release, and, in my opinion, Mobster's Confessions is the weakest of the bunch. It is a decent film, for sure, clearly by a filmmaker with lots of ideas about the genre, so many that the emotional intent of the film gets a bit muddled. The disc has a good transfer and a fine array of extras, so those who like Mochizuki will get their money's worth. Still, I lean towards it as a very solid rental for your average Japanese crime/ foreign film fan.