JFF25 ANGRY SQUAD: The Civil Servant & 7 Swindlers

True to his profession, mild-mannered tax office investigator Kumazawa (Seiyō Uchino) is used to living by the book. However, his life as a civil servant is turned upside down when he’s tricked out of his savings by a slick con artist who goes by the name Himuro (Masaki Okada). Humiliated and furious, Kumazawa vows to get revenge until the swindler offers a tantalising deal: Team up, and he’ll help Kumazawa retrieve over one billion yen in unpaid taxes from the corrupt and well-moustached property developer Tachibana (Yukiyoshi Ozawa), in exchange for Himuro’s own freedom. Reluctant at first, Kumazawa’s desire to bring Tachibana to justice proves stronger than his personal grudge against Himuro, and so the swindled begins his training to become the swindler. Together with a ragtag team of eccentric fraudsters they form the Angry Squad, and what begins as a professional sting quickly spirals into something far more personal. Adapted from the hit South Korean drama Squad 38, this feel-good escapade delivers fast-talking tricksters, corporate power plays and an ensemble of lovable outcasts with plenty of tricks up their sleeve. In his latest work, director Shin'ichirō Ueda (One Cut of the Dead), delivers a spirited heist comedy packed with heart, hustle and a not-so-subtle message: don’t mess with civil servants!