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Japan in the early 20th century: Kikuji (Akira Kobayashi) seems to be
the only level-headed men working at a yakuza-run construction company,
which at first puts him at odds with many of his superiors, but ultimately
it gets him promoted to foreman of his own crew. Also, a local geisha,
Manryu (Naoko Kubo), falls for him and repeatedly saves his life, but he
for some reason keeps her at a distance. Thing is, Kikuji has a dark past,
he has once been a yakuza, but has been expelled from his gang and
dishonoured after he stole his boss's fiancé Oshige (Chieko Matsubara) on
their supposed wedding day, and he has since married her himself - but
afraid of the (caped and masked) hitman (Tamio Kawaji) his former boss has
sent after him, they don't dare to show their relationship openly, even
though she works at a nearby inn. Eventually, Kikuji becomes a liability
for his current boss, so the boss sends him to kill his rival Izawa (Teruo
Miyabe), but at the same time sets up a trap for Kikuji to make sure he
doesn't return alive. Thing is, Manryu is one of Izawa's favourites and
she has found out about the plot, and even though she knows she can never
have Kikuji because of Oshige, she tells him about the whole thing, saving
his lfe yet again. Learning about this, Kikuji kills his own boss, then
wants to give himself up to the police - but then Oshige tells him she's
pregnant from him, and suddenly Kikuji finds himself on the run from both
the police and the caped hitman, who has since found out his wherabouts. Against
all odds, and after a labyrinthine chase through Tokyo, they both make it
onto a train out of the city - but so does the caped hitman, the inspector
and Manryu, who simply has to thank Kikuji for providing her with the
money to buy herself out of her job as a geisha before losing him forever. In
the finale on a field of snow heaps, the caped hitman kills Manryu
mistaking her for Oshige, then he injures Oshige, but is distracted long
enough for Kikuji to kill him. Enter the inspector, who takes Oshige into
custody to lure Kikuji out of hiding, but when he learns she is pregnant,
he lets them both escape. Pretty much a typical Seijun
Suzuki-film from the early to mid-1960's: The plot is so cheesy and
clichéed it's almost ridiculous, but a playful directorial effort, a
tongue-in-cheek approach and many an exhilarating setpiece coupled with a
lush visual style and comicbook references make this one a must-see
nevertheless. Sure, the film is no masterpiece, but it shows how much a
gifted director can make out of very little.
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