Why does this character in Black Rain do this?
In Black Rain (1989), there is a character that is a henchman of a mafia boss in the Japanese Yakuza. The actor is Rikiya Yasuoka and is just known as "Sugai's Man" or the Yakuza boss's man.
This is a screenshot of him in New York:
But, what I can't understand is why he can't understand Japanese when he is in New York.
When Sato comes to take the plates in New York, he says,
失礼しました = Pardon me
But, Sugai's man says,
What, what did you say?
So, he obviously does not understand Japanese.
But, when they are in Japan, and Nick Conklin goes to talk to Sugai at the golf driving range, he meets him and speaks Japanese to his underling fluently.
Here is a snap of the scene:
Now, remember that Sato was once an underling of Sugai, so he would know this guy and know if he could speak Japanese.
So why was he able to speak Japanese in Japan, but not in New York?
Best Answer
First, the actor that says "What, what did he say"? is not the Yakuza boss Sugai's man.
This deal being made for the plates in New York is with the Italian "Mafia".
The Italian mafioso in the first image you posted that says "what, what did he say?" is "Abolofia", played by actor Clem Caserta.
It is not Rikiya Yasuoka.
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Why is the movie Black Rain called Black Rain?
The film Black Rain, adapted from the novel of the same name by Masuji Ibuse, takes its title from the phenomenon observed after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The radioactive fallout took the form of rain blackened by ash and dust, and was the cause of illnesses experienced by the survivors.What is Black Rain about?
The intense fires created around Hiroshima by the bomb carried large quantities of ash into the atmosphere. The ash had the effect of 'seeding' the clouds and the result was a 'black rain' which fell 1-2 hours after the explosion.What happens at the end of Black Rain?
The movie ends with a scene where Douglas gives his Japanese partner a gift that, given the logic of the movie, he could not possibly have obtained.Where does Black Rain take place?
Plot. Nick Conklin is a New York City police officer facing possible criminal charges; Internal Affairs believes Nick was involved with his partner, who was caught taking criminal money in a corruption scandal. Nick, who has financial difficulties, is divorced from his wife, who has custody of their two children.Black Rain - The Best Movie You Never Saw
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