Chasing the killer of a lawman, a group of assassins fall foul of a group of blackmarket financiers who dispatch their own hitmen to dispose of them.
=Jazz standards used throughout the film.=
Under Naoki Tachikawa's deft musical direction, Out of This World draws on dozens of famous jazz standards, Mona Lisa, Take the "A" Train, Sentimental Journey, and Danny Boy, weaving their familiar melodies through the richly textured story. Mr. Tachikawa's previous credits include Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern and Hou Hsiao-Hsien's City of Sadness. In developing his screenplay, Sakamoto sought advice from Jiro Uchino, the former producer of the Club Shinchugun concert series, which featured performances by Japanese musicians who had played at Officers' and Enlisted Men's Clubs during the U.S. Occupation. In a tribute to the real life musicians, Out of This World's end credits roll over the documentary footage of the final concert in that series.