Japanese Movie Mini Reviews

[Takuma]

Attack (斬り込み) (Japan, 1970) [VoD] – 3/5
Yukihiro Sawada's directorial debut. This is as much a youth film as a yakuza picture. Tatsuya Fuji leads a pack of frustrated youngsters of the Kawasaki Goda gang, whose turf is being invaded by a union of rotten old yakuza bastards, the Kanto Federation. The boys can't stand still while their gang is being humiliated, and it soon escalates into bloodshed. Chris D. praised this film as one of the finest yakuza pictures. I don't think it's quite that good, with plenty of roughness around the edges and poignant scenes followed by routine bits. But it's certainly good, and perfectly evidences the difference to Toei's old fashioned ninkyo films. There are scenes like the one where the boys abuse an innocent girl in turns due to peer pressure that wouldn’t appear in ninkyo films, and in fact their entire quarrel with the enemy seems to spring more from frustration in their own lives and doomed futures than preserving any old fashioned codes of honour. Note that the first billed Tetsuya Watari is actually a supporting character who only becomes a major character near the end.



Kanto Society of Leading Mobsters (関東幹部会) (Japan, 1971) [VoD] – 3.5/5
Just out of prison mobster Tetsuya Watari is sent to Fuji City, one of the last areas where his gang has not yet been crushed by bigger syndicates. Childhood friend and gangster Isamu Nagato awaits there, but the men's interests conflict. This another film Chris D. praised in his book. He’s mostly right, it’s a good ninkyo / jitsuroku hybrid directed with the kind of youthful energy and compassion towards its young outlaws that set Nikkatsu apart from the more old fashioned Toei. It's also got Watari dressed in leather jacket and sunglasses day and night, and a beautiful ending. But it's a little rough and shallow on character development until the last third. A re-watch might reveal more layers behind Watari’s sunglasses. This was part 2 in Nikkatsu’s Kanto series (unrelated to Toei’s 60s Kanto series with Koji Tsuruta) and the only one directed by Yukihiro Sawada; the other two were by Ken’ichi Ozawa.



Sunset, Sunrise (陽は沈み陽は昇る) (Japan, 1973) [35mm] – 3.5/5
Koreyoshi Kurahara's road movie / hippie epic, with a (good, not amazing) score by Nino Rota! A stripper (Rosemary Dexter), a race driver (Takeshi Kobayashi) and an American (Glenn H. Neighbour) meet by chance as each of them try to escape the suffocating modern society, heading from Paris towards Nepal in search of a better world, through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and India on car and two bikes. An evident follow-up project to Kurahara's earlier, grand Safari 5000 (though by different studio, Nikkatsu this time), this one isn't quite as good a film, with plentiful dated ideological hippie silliness and not always stellar acting. It is nevertheless a fascinating documentation of time and place, full of incredible footage shot in authentic locations. Spoken in English, Italian, French, Japanese and a few other languages, roughly 75% of the dialogue is in English, however. Sadly the film has never been released on home video or streaming.



Statute in Fire (炎の肖像) (Japan, 1974) [TV] - 2/5
Toshiya Fujita and Akira Kato co-directed this odd tale of a rock star wandering aimlessly in life, played by rock star Kenji Sawada. The approach is interesting, with fictional segments intercut with real interview and concert footage, blurring the line between the real and fictional Sawada. But the film comes out largely meaningless, with little cinematic punch. It might be Fujita's dullest film in the 70s. Kumiko Akiyoshi appears in a supporting role, strangely keeps her clothes on.

Office Ladies: Lesbians in Uniforms 3 (ＯＬ百合族１９歳) (Japan, 1984) [TV] – 2/5
Part 3 in the Lesbians in Uniforms series, only without uniforms this time. Young woman Kaoru Oda and five star lolita Natsuko Yamamoto have graduated from their school uniforms into OL’s. The former is planning to lead straight life but the latter can’t let go of lesbian love. Drama ensues. This was directed by Shusuke Kaneno (Death Note, Gamera) as opposed to Hiroyuki Nasu of the first two films. Kaneko frames some visually good looking images of the girls in the lively, neon-lit night city streets. But the storyline has no pull, and despite the evident psychological push the character drama only works occasionally.



The Monster Bus (ころがし涼太　激突！モンスターバス) (Japan, 1988) [TV] – 2.5/5
A pretty obscure comic book action comedy partly elevated to minor cult status because almost no one has seen it. Young Riki Takeuchi stars (in his first leading role) as a live action anime buffoon bus driver who will crash through any and every obstacle while chasing his new crush (Naomi Akimoto). The girl, however, is also chased by a mysterious shadow man (Shun Sugata) wheeling a black, armoured monster bus straight out of a post apocalypse adventure. The hero has also made countless other enemies, being an ex-boso zoku and also because he battered / ran over / otherwise hurt them with his bus, usually without realizing it. There's some fun to be had here, from a visual overdrive to constant gags, some family friendly sex and nudity, over-the-top yankii characters, and probably the only bus vs. bus action finale in any film, served in a 97 minute pack that lacks a proper storyline to hold it together. The film then feels longer than it is. Naosuke Kurosawa, who debuted in 1980 with the supremely stylish pink giallo Zoom In: Rape Apartments, helms it in his usual ‘style first, everything else third’ method. The film comes out much like a live action anime, or a Nobuhiko Obayashi film minus the substance.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Vengeance is Mine (1979, Japan, Shohei Imamura)

Another film I have wanted to see for years ever since it came out on Criterion and Roger Ebert had put it in his Great Movie list.  I am also working on an East Asian film essay and I was wondering if I was going to put in on there.  How do you rate films like this?  It is well made, it uses an interesting temporal approach of timelines, but it also feels cold, clinical and calculating.  It does not feel like we are watching a movie of a human being, but more of an insect (Ebert makes this point in his essay, but Imamura has often had similar themes like with The Insect Woman).

Roger Ebert’s essay: https://bit.ly/32i7KHV: “considered with such as Ozu, Kurosawa and Mizoguchi among the greatest Japanese directors”  I do not see Imamura’s films being in top lists nor mentioned anywhere near as much as the other three and I’m certainly putting Masaki Kobayashi, Hiroshi Teshigahara and Hayao Miyazaki ahead which Tastes of Cinema did https://bit.ly/3pgD5TZ (though ranking him very highly).  But I do need to see more of his work.

In some ways I am reminded of Henry the Portrait of a Serial Killer: you do not really get a reason for why the person does what he does as well as killing of someone he knows.  He does not really know what he does the things he does (he even states this). The flashbacks into his childhood are minor in their egregiousness.  Obviously, these could trigger different responses in different people, but he seemed a bad egg from the beginning (notice what is missing from the scenes, this is important).  How does he learn to be charming though?  And he becomes a good enough confidence man.  He gets caught and has does time (pre-murders).  Does this change him?  The murders happen afterwards.  Two early clumsy murders that show he is not really good at it, just good enough.

Iwao Enokizu parents are Christian.  His dad tries to live to a standard but has his own demons (the off-screen killing of the dog has to be one of the ruffer scenes, not counting the off-screen rape which was also off-putting).  Iwao’s dad loves Iwao’s wife and Iwao does not love his wife, but he really does not love anyone.  He exists.  He faces death as a minor irritation like not finding a can opener after killing someone.

The spiting into the face is analogous to the story of the samurai who was stopped from killing a person because he was spat in his face – thereby making in personal and not detached.  He only kills those who do not hurt him.

Ken Ogata’s performance is good though it really is a dichotomy of con-man actor and indifference.  He is not supposed to be human, so he does not come off as one.  I am not sure how I feel about this.  The film can be unpleasant, but it is well made. I thought the freeze frame coda was a bit ridiculous because it becomes overly symbolic when it did not really need to be (nowhere near the use of it in The 400 Blows).

A lot of handheld camera shots were used. Some of the tracking shots are quite good.  The composition is nice with some great shots but is mostly mundane. 

[Takuma]

Path of the King (日本やくざ伝　総長への道) (Japan, 1971) [TV] - 2.5/5
A mostly meagre ninkyo film that is, however, an interesting reflection of the times. There’s little to spark curiosity about the standard storyline (though it manages without excess comedy and sobbing). The cast however is top notch. This film finally dares to pit Toei's top two stars, Takakura and Tsuruta, openly against each other. Their climatic duel alone warrants a viewing, may it have been a desperate commercial move on Toei’s part. But much more could have been done with this confrontation (it only becomes meaningful near the end) and supporting players Wakayama (only present in a handful of scenes) and Matsukata (might as well not be in the film). Note the full Japanese title "Tales of Japanese Yakuza: Path of the King". This was indeed intended as a new series to follow “Tales of Japanese Chivalry”. But the genre was already past its prime, and no sequels followed.

Third Generation Yamaguchi Gang (山口組三代目) (Japan, 1973) [TV] – 3.5/5
Toei's biggest yakuza film of 1973 – this beat Battles without Honor and Humanity at the box office – and shameless promotion for the country's biggest criminal organization. The film chronicles Yamaguchi Gang boss Kazuo Taoka's rise to ranks in pre WWII Japan, based on his serialized biography in Weekly Asahi Geino magazine. Curiously enough it was brought to the screen by Ken Takakura and Kosaku Yamashita as their first jitsuroku film. What the film amounts to is an oddly entertaining fusion of cinematic styles, a true account that plays out like a ninkyo film. There are moments of ultra-violence (Taoka's trademark move is sticking his fingers in the opponent's eyes like a pre-war Sonny Chiba!) and documentary style jitsuroku touches sprinkled throughout of what is ultimately a romanticized gangster tale of male bonding and honour. The word is Toei producer Okada went full-on bromance with Taoka and even hired Taoka’s non-yakuza son to serve as producer, in addition to the cast partying and hanging out with the still-active gangster boss, something that should instantly cast a doubt on exactly how truthful the film is. And yet, in its own flawed way, this is one of the most interesting films of the jitsuroku movement.



Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack (日本任侠道　激突篇) (Japan, 1975) [TV] – 3/5
1972 was essentially the end of chivalrous yakuza films. Queen Fuji retired, Wakayama fled Toei, Brutal Tales ended, and the audience no longer bough the old fashioned ninkyo ideology. Then came Battles without Honor and Humanity which initiated a new era of grit and realism. And yet, here we have a Kosaku Yamashita / Ken Takakura ninkyo film made years after the genre's practical demise. This one tries to be a little more realistic by refraining from overt melodrama and romantics in its depiction of gang life under noble boss Takakura. Unfortunately the low-key approach more often than not translates as non-eventfulness. The film doesn't really come to life until the last 35 min, which surprisingly dials up the action and drama to very enjoyable heights. Loose cannon Joe Shishido and lusty hothead Takuzo Kawatani are to thank for triggering the mayhem. Also, it's curious to see Ken Takakura in an oyabun role, another sign the change of times. Trivia: this was originally intended as the 3rd Yamaguchi gumi film (following Third Generation Yamaguchi Gang, 1973, and Third Generation Boss, 1974) before Toei gave in to political pressure to stop promoting the Yamaguchi clan, and the project was re-written into a fictional ninkyo tale. The realism and Takakura’s oyabun role may be leftovers from the original project.

Winter's Flower (冬の華) (Japan, 1978) [TV] – 3.5/5
Takakura returned to Toei for this film after breaking off with them three years earlier. It's easy to see why he came back. Takakura is a middle aged yakuza released from prison after serving 15 years for murder. He has spent the time financially supporting a little girl he orphaned, pretending to be an uncle living abroad. He intends to go straight and face the girl, but that turns out easier said than done. This is a fine film with an excellent performance by Takakura. There's quite a bit more character depth than most yakuza films, a beautiful (if overused) theme tune by Claude Ciari, and no excess sex or violence. It strikes a pretty satisfactory balance between the already disappearing 70s yakuza grit and the soon to come 80s human relationship drama (that would eventually kill yakuza films) with an eccentric artistic touch. But it falls just short of being great. The script does a lot right, and Yasuo Furuhara (replacing Kosaku Yamashita, who left the project after being denied script changes) directs reasonably well, but the little nuance, the final touch to push it to excellence and shake the audience, is a lacking. There are bits of great mixed with bits of standard. Still, this is essential genre viewing for the terrific Takakura performance, and for capturing an in-between era in yakuza cinema.



Demon (夜叉) (Japan, 1985) [TV] – 3.5/5
Takakura and Furuhata are back in another mature yakuza drama, this time at Toho. Takakura is a former gangster living in a small, snow-covered fishing village with wife and son, trying hard to leave his past behind. None of the villagers, including close friend Kunie Tanaka, know about his past. Then young beauty Yuko Tanaka from Osaka’s red light districts arrives the town to run a bar, soon followed by her dope-pushing boyfriend Takeshi Kitano. As a yakuza film of the 80s, this has its fair share of small town human drama and clumsy flashbacks, having been made in an era when yakuza films were stripped of their sex and violence and transformed into something that housewives and television audiences could enjoy. But this is also much better than the many lesser films of the era. It is really quite effective at depicting the main character’s anguish as he has to face what he really is deep inside, feeling more relaxed around an ex-hostess from Osaka’s yakuza circles than at home with people who come from a different world than him. Takakura is in his element here.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Watched Steamboy (2004: Katsuhiro Ôtomo: Japan)

Ôtomo is most famous for Akira, a must watch for any anime fan.  If you have not seen that film, it is a must watch and should be seen by any cinephile and view it before this one.

Here we have an adventurous lad James who comes from mechanic stock (heck his last name is Steam), whose father (deceased or is he) and grandfather are all mechanics who specialize in steam-powered engines.  The kid is an inventor whose habitat will remind one of Pee Wee Herman’s house.  There is a MacGuffin device in a steamball which can convert purified water at a high rate.

Given that this device is extremely valuable it is no wonder it is coveted by The Foundation (sounds like the Asimov novel) a somewhat evil weapon manufacturing company somewhat controlled by a spoiled little girl Scarlet O’Hara – or at least she inherited it.  This leads to almost a perfunctory plot. Seriously the feminine interest for Ray is Scarlet O’Hara.  Great name there.

Roger Ebert gave it a mediocre review: https://bit.ly/3HTrFvM And he is right on a few parts.  The ending is less-than-stellar; however, he points to the overuse of kinetics and my issues had more to do with the psychology of it (which was eschewed for the explosions).  The ending is a mess from that standpoint.  Alliances and friendships are made, I guess there is ultimately a bad guy, it really is a mess sorting it all out – especially as it gears itself toward a happy ending and the director’s cut does not solve it.

And he had an issue that I thought might have been the DVD with the tone of the animation being too drab and washed out in many scenes (though there are some brighter ones that make it seem like it was the choice of the director) when it should not have been.

But that floating “castle” was amazing.  It reminded me of the later Howl’s Moving Castle.

This is one of the few anime films I felt I should have watched the American dub instead of the Japanese one.  Patrick Stewart is on the American dub (and his voice overs tend to be quite good) and just like with Hellsing I always find it a bit off when watching an English setting and listening to characters with the Japanese language.

The dates are all off: The Great Exhibition was in 1851 (though look at drawings as it really looks like a lot in this film); Robert Stephenson (who I believe is supposed to be Robert Stevenson the grandfather of Robert Louise Stevenson) died in 1850 while this film takes place in 1866.

I do think it is a worthy watch though.  The beginning promises so much and the animation can be quite beautiful throughout – even if the coloring seems off.  I love the Victorian steampunk aesthetic throughout.  And expect lots of steam.  Ôtomo spent several years on making this I just wish he thought out the plot more.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Fall Guy (1982: Kinji Fukasaku: Japan):

Kinji Fukasaku is mainly known now for directing Battle Royale (though Battles Without Honor and Humanity is still known among Japanese film fans) and has directed a good amount of movies.  I had a friend on a past forum who raved about this movie so I bought the DVD years ago.  Yes, I’m finally getting to it. I wanted to see another film from Fukasaku.

This film won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Picture and was a popular hit in Japan in 1982.  It has hardly any votes on IMDB and there is only an OOP R1 DVD available.  This was based on a play and a novel and like Show People and Hail, Caesar! It is a comedic take on the film business of Japan.

The film is ultimately a love triangle between a stuntman and bit player Yasu (based on Akira Shiojo who has a cameo) who marries the pregnant girlfriend Konatsu of falling superstar (who is trying to remain relevant) Ginshiro who is a bit of an ass (or a whole ass) – however, all the main stars are shown that way – in this often over-the-top spoof.  

The directors are not spared either. 

Did you know Sonny Chiba has a cameo?

Yasu wants to make something of his self and his wife and future (not-his) child so he takes on every stunt he can.  Soon he has to take on a stunt so dangerous that it crippled a previous stuntman who did it – a fall down 30 feet of stairs (which you know will shown at the end).  But which way will it go: will he be crippled, will he die, will he survive, will he destroy his marriage?

While it shows Toei Studios (which passed on the film) and takes place there this is produced by Shochiku in a bit of irony (since Shochiku Studios did not have the look necessary for the chambara subplots of this movie).

This is a good, not great movie.  It is enjoyable, sometimes funny, sometimes not and sometimes so much over-the-top melodrama that seems out-of-place and annoying like part of Uncut Gems was stuck in the film especially when Yasu goes to 11 in his sadomasochistic longing for his “friend” Ginshiro.  And one basically a rape scene is just creepy.  The tonal shifts can drive you mad.

The DVD from HVE, which used to be the sole distributor for Criterion until 2013, is not good.  The print is fuzzy, which I hate.  Screenshots look too blurry.  It is interlaced as well.  It does come with a nice 11-minute interview with Sadao Yamane and an insert essay from him from an interview with Kinji Fukasaku.  Worth watching and worth reading. Note: the interview states the play came before the novel Kamata kôshinkyoku, but the essay states the novel came before the play (quick research and I still have no idea what came first).

[AlbertV]

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi, 2022): The "time travel" film goes an interesting route in this Japanese comedy. A cafe owner discovers that the television in his business and the one in his apartment just upstairs has a connection where the cafe shows images two minutes after the present. This leads to a series of comedic scenes and misfortunes for the owner and his friends. Supposedly shot in one take (there are some hidden cuts I believe) and shot all on cell phone (as seen during the end credits), this was a fun film that I enjoyed and it's only 70 minutes long.

 

[Drunken Monk]

These boards are a safe space, right? Don't tell my mum but I like my anime sleazy and ultra violent. The sleazier and more ultra violent the better. Because of this, I find it hard to track down anime I actually like. Well without venturing into Hentai territory and, to be be honest, I'm not sure that's a path I want to set foot on. Put simply, I like demons with vagina teeth and people getting split in half. Stay with me. I'm going somewhere with this.
Having watched Wicked City not that long ago, I was hoping Demon City Shinjuku would also contain the stuff I like. Wicked City was ok. Not fantastic but ok. I hoped Demon City would be better.
Holy shit, this may be the worst anime I've ever seen. It's a soulless, drab, random-as-hell 80 minutes that doesn't deliver on any level. Action? Nope. Story? Nope. Characters? Nope. None of it. It's an absolute disaster of nothingness. At the end, our her basically becomes He-Man and I couldn't give a fuck. I mean, there's a Mexican kid on roller skates if that's your thing.

Granted, I understand my tastes are a little niche but I honestly don't see how anyone could enjoy this dreck. To make matters worse, the dub is an absolute nightmare. There are terrible accents aplenty with no one sounding like they're actually being paid to record their voice. It's all lackluster.
If you can enjoy this one, more strength to you. You're a better person than I am. Maybe you have a more mature pallet than I do. Me? I wouldn't watch this again if you paid me. Demon City? Demon Shitty more like. Hey-oh!

[DrNgor]

18 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

Having watched Wicked City not that long ago, I was hoping Demon City Shinjuku would also contain the stuff I like. Wicked City was ok. Not fantastic but ok. I hoped Demon City would be better.

Have you seen Bio Hunter yet? It's on Youtube.

[Drunken Monk]

1 hour ago, DrNgor said:

Have you seen Bio Hunter yet? It's on Youtube.

I tried but the version on YouTube says it's subbed when it isn't. Though the first two minutes certainly impressed me! I'll try and find another version with subs since the only other one of YouTube us the German dub.

[DrNgor]

2 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

I'll try and find another version with subs since the only other one of YouTube us the German dub.

There's another version that's in Japanese with Portuguese subtitles. While not a problem for me, I can imagine it wouldn't be convenient for you. 

Did you try clicking on the Gear icon and seeing if the Auto-Translate function was available?

[DrNgor]

8 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

I tried but the version on YouTube says it's subbed when it isn't. Though the first two minutes certainly impressed me!

Try this: 

https://archive.org/details/bio-hunter-1995-vhs

[Drunken Monk]

43 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

Try this: 

https://archive.org/details/bio-hunter-1995-vhs

You're the man. I'll watch it tonight.

[Takuma]

White Powder Terror (白い粉の恐怖) (Japan, 1960) [TV] – 3.5/5
Near excellent noir about undercover narcotics cop Rentaro Mikuni bustling in the Tokyo night. He's using a young drug addict (Hitomi Nakahara) to establish a connection with the bigger fish while taking extreme precautions to cover his own back. This film has more depth than most similar films from the era, perhaps for being based on a novel. Particularly impressive is the level of detail in which the undercover job is depicted, and the protagonist's attempt to lead casual family life while not on the streets. But the film is equally rich in nocturnal street atmosphere and gradually increasing tension, enhanced by low key approach and minimal use of music. The early scenes with the undercover cops being driven around the city at the back of a truck are especially good. The only weakness is the rather silly, overly preachy closing scene, perhaps the influence of Three Evils fighter Tsusai Sugawara, who briefly pops up in the film. Still, this is one of workman director Shinji Murayama's best pictures!



Yakuza Mounted Bandits (馬賊やくざ) (Japan, 1968) [TV] – 2.5/5
Travelling yakuza Koji Tsuruta runs afoul with corrupt Japanese army imperialists in Manchuria, joins local resistance after he becomes a fugitive. Not a bad action film with a more original premise than most. But one feels more could have been done with the theme, keeping Tsuruta a mere companion rather than making him a member of the rebel bandits being a major missed opportunity. Also, do not expect to see Tsuruta to hop on a horse in full-on bandit mode, despite that being depicted in one of the promotion stills.

Troops of Darkness (悪の親衛隊) (Japan, 1971) [VoD] – 2.5/5
A little seen Kazuhiko Yamaguchi film released between the last Delinquent Girl Boss and the first Wandering Ginza Butterfly. Tokyo boss Tetsuro Tamba brings a trio reckless hoods lead by Tsunehiko Watase to Shinjuku to fight a turf war for him. This is a programmer inside out, with plenty of semi-comical mayhem eventually leading to something resembling a plot thread (two in fact). It's obvious no one had much of a winning idea for a film here, but one had to be produced anyway. That didn't stop Toei from throwing in everything and the kitchen sink in terms of star power: beside Tamba, Watase and Jerry Fujio, there are supporting turns by Fumio Watanabe and Bunjaku Han, cameos by Tatsuo Umemiya and Shingo Yamashiro, and a whole bunch of musical /club performances by The Mops. There was a (Toei) audience for this kind of lightweight yakuza / action / comedy mayhem, and it is at the very least intermittently entertaining, but certainly not among Yamaguchi's best films.



Hitozuma kyofu: Jigoku doro (人妻恐怖・地獄道路) (Japan, 1973) [TV] – 2/5
“Housewife’s Horror: Hell Road”. This is another 45 minute TV film in Toei and MBS TV's Suspense Series. Sonny Chiba and Etsuko Shihomi's karate packed Kazuo Koike manga adaptation Modern Witch Tale: Murderous Love premiered in the same series 2 weeks later. This one, helmed by Yasuo Furuhata, is a lot less exciting. Housewife Yoko Nogiwa and her annoying kid are taken as hostage by criminals Rinichi Yamamoto and Nobuo Yana while her husband Tadao Nakamaru is banging another woman. Routine and clichéd all the way to the ultra-conservative ending that tells us women should be grateful to their husbands, even if they are having harmless little affairs while their family gets kidnapped.

Student Yakuza (学生やくざ) (Japan, 1974) [VoD] – 3/5
A hugely interesting yakuza / karate / school gang mash-up that doesn't live up to its full potential. Tsunehiko Watase is a schoolboy gangster armed with fast fists and karate kicks who, after beating a fieldful of local rivals, gets sent to Osaka by his family (incl. gray-haired Bunta Sugawara). Immediately upon arrival he runs into a schoolgirl gang (lead by Rika Aoki of Toho's Rica series) lynching a fellow sailor suit on the street. He later lands work at a construction site whose workers are being harassed by Kenji Imai's Osaka yakuza, but also defended by a violent student radical group (echoing the real the early 70s student unrest in Japan). What a premise! This was helmed by Toei's assistant director since 1962 Akira Shimizu (his only other directorial effort was Rugby Yaro in 1976) but perhaps more importantly written by Takayuki Minagawa, the AD on The Street Fighter (released 2 weeks prior to this) and the writer / AD on the Girl Boss series. They deserve criticism for the lack of strong plot and above average execution, but there's lot of fun to be had here: a fair bit yakuza stuff, a little bit of sukeban thrills, and way more karate than you'd expect, in the usual mix of violence, nudity and anti-social mayhem. University karate club alumni Watase does well-enough in the action scenes (fresh off Bodyguard Kiba 2, and to soon star in Wicked Kempo later) and looks like a Watase-version of Tomisaburo Wakayama's Gokudo-series protagonist.

[DrNgor]

Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Original title: Kôkaku Kidôtai - Produced by Kodansha. Major Kusanagi Motoki is a cyborg agent working for the government. In this world, cybernetic implants have become commonplace, even implants in people's brains. Her current mission is to bring in the Puppet Master, who has been hacking people's brain implants, implanting virtual memories, and causing them to do his bidding. Kusanagi suspects that a conspiracy is afoot, which is only the tip of the iceberg. Beautifully drawn and animated, densely plotted, and full of (non-erotic) boobies and graphic violence, it's easy to see how this film has acquired such a fan following over the years. It has a number of pre-Matrix ideas, notably the brain-jack apparatus that Kusanagi has on the back of her neck. The philosophy and techno-babble is interesting enough to give viewers more to chew on in subsequent viewings.

[Yihetuan]

Being Natural [2018] - Dir. Tadashi Nagayama

A quirky, at times dark social satire with equal amounts of buddy comedy, slice of life melodrama and biting critique of contemporary Japanese society. The film gets progressively more bizarre and the finale really caught me off guard and wouldn't have felt out of place in a Takashi Miike film.

I enjoyed it so much that I purchased the region free blu ray from one of VS new partner labels, Kani Films. It has a neat glow in the dark embossed cover & some nice extras. Now I really want someone to release Nagayama's debut feature, Journey of Tortoise on blu ray.

 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Watched Belle (2021: Mamoru Hosoda: Japan):

I have only watched Ponyo in the theater for Japanese animation so when this went to the theater here I had to see it.  I am fan of the director’s Wolf Children, so I am glad I got to see this on the big screen.  It was a bit of a travail to finally see it (the day before I ordered tickets and could not get to the theater because of stopped traffic on the freeway and I could not get a refund because I got back 30 seconds too late at my office … argh).  Get this: I got the whole entire theater to myself.  Maybe it was better that I went a day later?

There are many beautiful scenes throughout the movie.  Check out the beginning: https://youtu.be/K1W61zetQ1c

You have this Japanese teenager who has lost her mother, but finds solace and her voice (singing) by immersion into this virtual reality of “U.” However, a beast who disrupts her concert fascinates her.

I would have preferred to watch this in Japanese and have subtitles as the mouth movements do not always match up and some of the voices seem a bit off for me, but I was just happy to see it on the big screen.

A big part of the film is the Beauty and Beast influence.  It is obvious, it is not trying to hide it though it makes me think of the 1946 and 1991 film (I saw that three times in the theater, not I’m not old enough to have seen the 1946 during its original run).  You can definitely find a multitude of references like The Secret of NIMH (1982).

Some issues: a small issue I have is how uninteresting the U is, especially compared to Ready Player One where you feel that is where people would go, of course, Neuromancer (which I want to reread sooner than later) and love the Internet in Futurama.  Her rise in fandom was too quick and I thought they should have shown more of that and the main antagonist is too obviously pathetic, though I love that his weapon is basically a cyber-doxing weapon.  And of course the coincidence of several of the characters being that close to each other (not even counting the impossibility of the them finding each other at the end).

But the heart is in the right place.  Maybe a bit too much pathos toward the end, but there are several emotional scenes that help push this analogous to Wolf Children. You feel for her as a character and strangely enough the plot had a similarity to Insidious: Chapter 3 which was the previous film I saw. I love connections like that.

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by masterofoneinchpunch

[Takuma]

 Rashamen (らしゃめん) (Japan, 1977) [VoD] -1.5/5
Yuji Makiguchi's (Shogun's Sadism) final theatrical film is a tame melodrama based on a novel. The heroine (Haruko Wanibuchi) is a woman married against her will to an American diplomat during the early years of Meiji Restoration. She is to serve as his temporary wife in Japan. She spends the film's first third crying and panicking. Thankfully we also have ATG director and Return of the Street Fighter villain Claude Gagnon as raging sex crazy gaijin in the house. But the fun is over before the film has run 35 min, with the American sent back home and the lady trying to go on in life with a tarnished reputation. Geisha house melodrama ensues till the film calls it quits at 77 minutes. This isn't as much a terrible film (it has its moments, a decent musical score, and an uncredited Takuzo Kawatani role as a waiter abused by Hideo Murota!) but the further it gets, the duller it becomes. Makiguchi would earn his bread on TV from here on, directing shows like Sonny Chiba's Shadow Warriors.

Harry and His Geisha Girls (生贄の女たち) (Japan, 1978) [TV] - 3/5
The film that brought Harry Reems to Japan! The titular character arrives in Japan to have his peanut sized willy replaced with a more respectable member, as persuaded by his lovelorn Japanese wife. The medical operation is successful, but there are side effects, namely, a personality change (now there's an interesting research topic for some curious academic). This is a bizarre, but surprisingly funny addition to Toei's line up of erotic films with imported leads. They first brought in Sandra Julien, Christina Lindberg and Sharon Kelly in 1971-1974 for 1-2 films each, and now, Harry with his big... moustache. It probably had something to do with Toei having distributed Deep Throat theatrically in 1973, and produced its Japanese follow-up Deep Throat in Tokyo in 1975. Anyway, here we have Harry in Japanese yukata and headband serving customers in a restaurant, running for his life from mad women, and running afoul with yakuza who want to cut off his new sausage because they believe it was formerly used for smuggling diamonds from Hong Kong. And let’s not even talk about a couple of hilarious (dick) twists the plot comes with. It’s all quite amusing, and frankly more entertaining than most Japanese erotic comedies, even by Toei. Oh, and isn’t that Osman Yusuf doing the (highly amusing) English/Japanese dubbing for Harry? No one is credited for it, but it sure sounds like him.



Devil's Flute (悪魔が来りて笛を吹く) (Japan, 1979) [TV] - 1.5/5
Toei’s time machine to the future: an annoying, pretentious 80s murder mystery made in 1979s. This is actually an adaptation of a 1950s mystery novel of the same name, featuring the famous fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi. He is trying to solve a murder case in a large, remarkably off-putting European-style mansion inhabited by a family of rich twats. 135 minutes of hysteric characters, confusing plotting and pretentious artistic references to demons follow. This was a Toei film with Haruki Kadokawa serving as the executive producer. His own company would have been a more fitting home for this, having already made The Inugami Family, another Kindaichi tale, two years prior for Kadokawa.

Four Seasons: Natsuko (四季　奈津子) (Japan, 1980) [TV] – 3/5
Lively, if slightly pretentious slice of life drama with blue collar Kyushu girl Setsuko Karasuma taking a Tokyo photographer's offer to appear in nude photos because, why not? She heads to the capital to start a new, more exciting life. There are some excellent scenes, such as the breezy relationship play between her and her boyfriend, as well as some relatively bland episodes, and an admiration of female nudity that very much smells of a man’s idea of art. Newcomer Karasuma was set to star in a Kinji Fukasaku / Yusaku Matsuda yakuza film after this, but she announced she'll have nothing to do with Toei from here on, feeling the studio had exploited her (boobs) in the film's marketing. It shouldn't have happened, but seeing her shred her clothes in the film, one can certainly understand why it did!



Flakes of Snow (ひとひらの雪) (Japan, 1985) [TV] – 3/5
Another Kichitaro Negishi x Haruhiko Arai collaboration. This is a high brow Toei literature film, an adult audience production, and a women’s film all in one, originally meant to be brought to the screen by Kinji Fukasaku and Keiko Matsuzaka before they abandoned the project. What it really amounts to is a more tolerable than usual piece of 80s greyness. A divorcing, middle aged architect (Masahiko Tsugawa) takes turns banging his semi-lolita secretary (Naomi Oki) and a noble lady ex (Kumiko Akiyoshi) while none of them seem to be having a clear idea where their lives are heading. It’s all meant to say something profound about… lives that have little profound or cinematic about them. The very essence of 80s Japanese cinema that is! This remains moderately interesting nevertheless, thanks to the Arai x Negishi pairing. But one feels they were limited by the topic matter and source material (a Junichi Watanabe novel). Negishi in particular was at his best depicting the dysfunctional youth; his films about the corporate type adults lacked the same spark. The Japanese audience and critics disagreed: the film was a financial and critical success, particularly among women.

Edited February 20, 2022 by Takuma

[DrNgor]

Shrill Cries of Summer (2008) - aka When They Cry - Japanese title:  Higurashi no naku koro ni - Live-action adaptation of the 2006 anime series "When They Cry", which itself is based on a popular series of visual novels in Japan. The premise is that there's a small village somewhere in Japan known as Hinamizawa, which in the late 70s was the site for the construction of the dam. The villagers revolted and, after the kidnapping of a government official's grandson, construction was halted and ultimately cancelled. Starting in 1979, every year at the village's annual Cotton Drifting Festival, a murder (or two) occcurs, with the victim being someone associated with the dam project. The story proper starts in the summer of 1983, with the arrival of a teenager named Maebara Keiichi in the village. The general premise is that while the backstory is more or less fixed, Keiichi's story is highly variable according to the player's decisions.

This film follows the first arc of the anime. Keiichi arrives in Hinamizawa and befriends a group of girls at the local school--there are only 15 kids in the village, so they all share the same classroom. There's Sonozaki Mion, the oldest of the bunch; Ryûgu Rena, who's Keiichi's age; and a pair of 13-year-olds, Hôjo Satoko and Furude Rika. Rika stands out in that she's the miko, or priestess, of the village. Keiichi learns about the village's religious beliefs, which revolve around a guardian deity named Oyashiro-sama. He also picks up hints of the village's dark history, which his friends are loathe to discuss whenever he brings them up. So what happens when Keiichi breaks the village's taboo and enters Oyashiro-sama's tool shrine during the Cotton Drifting Festival?

On one hand, I can understand them wanting adapt the first arc, as it's the most self-contained of the anime (I've seen so far) and the most overtly supernatural. That way, the characters' motivations as the mystery gains in intensity can easily be explained by "supernatural stuff is afoot." But some details included go completely unexplained, so that viewers unfamiliar with the source material will undoubtedly be scratching their heads (i.e. What's with the mysterious guys in the van?). And despite running almost 30 minutes longer than the same story in the anime version, a few scenes (like the cryptic apology scene) aren't even included. The film is unsettling, to be sure, and has some of the most squirm-inducing examples of neck violence that I've seen in a long time (I hate neck violence). But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't watched the anime yet.

[DrNgor]

Shrill Cries: Reshuffle (2009) - aka When the Cry: Reshuffle - Japanese Title: Higurashi no naku koro ni: Chikai - This sequel to the 2008 film also follows the 2006 anime series, this time focusing on the show's sixth arc, "Atonement." This arc focuses on the character of Ryûgû Rena (Airi Matsuyama), who has a myriad of problems. Her backstory is that she was born in the mysterious village of Hinamizawa and then moved to another town. She had a violent psychotic episode at her high school after her mom revealed to her that she was leaving her dad after getting pregnant by a lover. The guardian deity of Hinamizawa, Oyashira-sama, convinced her to return to the village with her dad. Now, her suppressed psychotic tendencies are forced to the surface when she discovers that her dad's new girlfriend, Ritsuko (Miho Yabe), is a gold-digging whore and extortionist. Murder is soon afoot, and Rena's growing paranoia soon reaches epic proportions. Meanwhile, Maebura Keiichi (Gôki Maeda) is starting to have flashbacks to his actions from alternate universes (i.e. the first film).

This film more or less follows the anime arc to the letter, albeit with a much darker ending and a few references to the anime's third arc, too. I do think that the anime handled the subplot involving Keiichi's "memories" better than this movie did. The biggest difference is how the subplot involving Takano-san's scrapbook is handled. In the anime, Takano's conclusions about Oyashira-sama's curse offered a (relatively) realistic explanation for what we took be the supernatural explanation for the events of the first arc. It ultimately sought to turn the first arc on its head and refute our initial conclusions.

In this movie, however, Takano's theory is brought up, although given less attention than it was in the anime. However, the characters immediately argue that it's nothing but a crackpot idea. It's an ambiguous treatment of the material, as the explanation goes from "supernatural conspiracy theory" to "medical horror" to your more old-fashioned "paranoid psychosis." But then, that doesn't really explain the other mysterious deaths. So in that case, I prefer the anime to this film.

[Takuma]

 Police Department Story 6 (警視庁物語 夜の野獣) (Japan, 1957) [TV] - 2.5/5
Toei Scope! The first entry in widescreen, following the introduction of the new aspect ratio at Toei some 8 months earlier (The Lord Takes a Bride, April 1957). It's also the longest entry yet, with a 83 min running time. The detectives are tracking a professional pickpocket gang who has left a dead body behind. There is some extra attention to the police work, abetted by the extended running time, and a voice over further enhancing the documentary touch. But it's only a good film, hardly exceptional, like most films in the series, by today's standards.



Police Department Story 7 (警視庁物語 七人の追跡者) (Japan, 1958) [TV] - 3/5
Shinji Murayama is back in the director's chair (after the disappointing part 5) in what is best entry in the series so far! There's an instantly evident change of pace in the energetic camerawork, with pans and crane shots replacing the largely static images in the earlier films, and an almost operatic score. The prolonged ending is particularly thrilling, almost like Sergio Leone directing a police stakeout. The film's middle part is slower-paced, as usual. However, there is quite an interesting bit of police work involved when an autopsy is performed to discover what the victim ate during in her last days alive. That will serve as a clue to trace the victim's movements and find possible witnesses.



Police Department Story 8 (警視庁物語 魔の伝言板) (Japan, 1958) [TV] – 2/5
The most talkative of the early films. Most of the police work here is done at the station, with little in terms of outdoor scenes. This is quite a turnabout after the previous film, the most stylish and energetic one so far, curiously made by the exact same people from director (Murayama) to writer (Hasegawa) and producer, cinematographer, production designer etc. Considering there was only two weeks between their release dates, and they were the only instalments in 1958, it's highly likely they were shot back to back.

Police Department Story 9 (警視庁物語 顔のない女) (Japan, 1959) [TV] – 2.5/5
Another big scale production with an 83 min running time, inspired by the Black Dahlia case. This has an oddly playful opening, interrupted by school kids finding a woman's torso floating in a river. The head and all limbs have been cut off. It's disturbing even for modern viewers, let alone 1959 audiences. The film then stagnates as the detectives engage in talking heads investigation, until around halfway it picks up the pace again with a car chase and strippers. There's some solid camerawork as well, though nothing comparable to part 7. Note: the film is only available on streaming and TV; the new DVD box set omits this film and part 18 for unspecified reasons. It could be due to print damage; the presentation here is full of scratches, though seemingly complete and entirely watchable.

Police Department Story 10 (警視庁物語 一〇八号車) (Japan, 1959) [TV] –3/5
A police officer of 'patrol car no. 108' (the film's Japanese title) is gunned down during a routine check of a seemingly abandoned vehicle. The case is transferred to the detectives who attempt to track down the vehicle and the killer inside. Although not a particularly eventful entry, this is still a captivating film that doesn't overstay its welcome at just 54 minutes. What this entry brings to the table is the endless long hours put in the office as part of the detective work, as they try to identify a potential suspect by going through thousands of pages of traffic violations records. The film was co-directed by Shinji Murayama and newcomer Eijiro Wakabayashi, who had debuted in 1958 with the two Planet Prince tokusatsu pictures, later re-edited into one film as Prince of Space. Wakabayashi would go on to helm a total of 20 theatrical movies in a career that lasted less than 5 years until 1963 (it is possible that TV work followed, but finding confirmation is difficult).

Police Department Story 11 (警視庁物語　遺留品なし) (Japan, 1959) [TV] – 2.5/5
Another good, but unexceptional entry. This a rather talkative film, but not without some valuable location work on real streets. The most interesting and still timely aspect of the film, however, is the plot premise featuring a murderous lady-killer who is taking advantage of women desperate to get married. Even today there's a saying in Japan that "the world is cruel at unmarried around-30 women", suggesting women are expected to marry before they turn 30. Should they fail to do that, they risk being seen as misfits or there being "something wrong with them", being unable to land a husband by that age.

[Takuma]

 Been watching Nikkatsu movies on TV...

Tokyo Drifter 2: The Sea is Bright Red as the Color of Love (続東京流れ者 海は真っ赤な恋の色) (Japan, 1966) [TV] – 3.5/5
A surprisingly good sequel to the Seijun Suzuki classic. Nikkatsu’s youth film director Kenjiro Morinaga (of the excellent Youth a Go Go, 1966) takes helm and executes it as a more traditional Nikkatsu Mood Action. Watari plays the same character as in the original film. The opening sees him arriving in a harbour town, with a hitman on his tail. He’s come to meet an old buddy, and while waiting for him also crosses paths with local beauty Kazuko Tachibana, who likewise is waiting for someone. Watari is also offered shelter by old man Zenpei Saga, whose son is in trouble with bad guy Nobuo Kaneko and in love with cutie Chieko Matsubara. Watari of course chooses to get involved. This is a surprisingly entertaining film with 1st rate cinematography and art direction. The locale is particularly well captured. It is however missing Suzuki’s wilder pop art experimentation, and may not be what foreign audiences would expect from a Tokyo Drifter sequel. That is of course because Suzuki was something of an outlier in the genre, while this movie is a more traditional entry in the Nikkatsu Action line. It’s a shame none of the recent Blu-Ray releases of the Suzuki classic have bundled this with it.



A Record of Love and Death (愛と死の記録) (Japan, 1966) [TV] - 4/5
Printing shop worker Tetsuya Watari and record shop clerk Sayuri Yoshinaga fall in love in once nuclear devastated Hiroshima. But the romance comes with a heavy baggage when it turns out he, exposed to nuclear radiation as a little boy, has no guarantees of growing old. Objectively speaking, this isn't so different from the box office smashing tear jerker garbage that has infested Japanese cinema for decades. But somehow this is so much better. Perhaps it's because of Watari and Yoshinaga's charming performances. Maybe it's because of new wave director Koreyoshi Kurahara, whose energetic helming is equally romantic and gritty. Perhaps it’s because there’s a real, living city in the background captured with an almost documentary like touch. Or maybe the story just seems more poignant than some purely fictional setting with a schoolgirl / boyfriend / uncle / dog dying from cancer. Probably it's all of that. The film has also been distributed under the title The Heart of Hiroshima.



Three Wives: Wild Nights (妻三人 狂乱の夜) (Japan, 1972) [TV] - 1.5/5
An early Masaru Konuma film that fares a little better than the title would suggest. This is actually a lightweight family satire / comedy about a rich man, his son, and their women / wives / housekeepers, all of whom have trouble keeping their pants on. Modestly entertaining for a while, and relatively restrained compared to the later Roman Porno sleaze fests, I nevertheless lost interest (and count of the wives) after the first 35 minutes. There appeared to be no reason to care, really.

Rape Frenzy: Five Minutes before Graduation (卒業五分前　群姦) (Japan, 1977) [TV] – 3.5/5
With a title like this, you think you know what you’re in for. Well, what do you know? This is one of action director gone rogue pink helmer Yukihiro Sawada’s best pictures, a youth drama following stressed-out, confused male and female students on their last day before high school graduation, facing an uncertain and bleak future. The film is far more reminiscent of Nikkatsu’s early 70s youth pictures and the following year’s Panic in High School (1978) than anything the title (which may or may not have been a commercial after-thought) would have you expect. There are several good scenes with the alienated protagonist finding himself detached from the people around him, his friend trying to escape the patronising society with a girlfriend and a shotgun, and live rock music performed in party scenes. And then some sexual assaults (half of them performed by girls or women against boys) springing from societal frustration and personal insecurity. The cinematography is excellent, with loads of those lovely ‘lonely people walking the city streets in solitude’ shots. The ending is a little underwhelming but perhaps fittingly low-key, and does not, by the way, deliver any kind of rape frenzy five minutes before the graduation. For other fine Sawada Roman Porno films see his beast cop thriller Retreat through the Wet Wasteland (1973) and the Peckinpah influenced Assault! (1976).



Revolver (リボルバー) (Japan, 1988) [TV] - 3/5
Toshiya Fujita's last film. A lazy-ass Kyushu cop (Kenji Sawada) loses his gun to a thieving salaryman head-butted by love life, triggering a chain reaction where the gun travels from one character to another and causes misery. But you'll have to wait 35 minutes for the gun even to go missing, and twice as long before most of the film's nearly dozen main characters (a troubled schoolboy and his non-girlfriend, a bar girl with a violent friend from the past, a duo of slacking gamblers etc.) meet in a Sapporo set climax. Also, having been made in the 80s, when action was frowned upon and non-eventful character drama celebrated in Japanese cinema, the missing gun ends up playing secondary role to all the human relationship sub-plots. The good news is that Fujita handles it better than most, keeping the viewer moderately interested in the drama, without forgetting to include dry humour, casual sex, nudity, and one brutal rape, all served in 80s mainstream film wrapping.

[DrNgor]

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train (2020) - original title: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-Hen - My daughter and I watched this last night. It was exciting, funny and emotional, although I thought the story structure was a little weird. The first 80 minutes follows Kamado Tanjiro and his compatriots' (including newcomer, Flame Hajira Rengoku Kyojuro) running battle against a demon who has integrated herself(?) with the train. She also has a cadre of zombie-like servants who do her bidding in exchange for the "blessing" of being able to sleep and have nice dreams. During much of this section, it's Tanjiro and his boar-faced friend, Inosuke, who shine the most. Then the last 40 minutes transforms into a Dragonball Z-esque battle between Rengoku and a newly-introduced demon, Akaza. The animated fight choreography is good, but the entire sequence just sort of comes out of nowhere.

One thing I liked was how the train demon had this ability to manipulate dreams, at which point she would send her minions to infiltrate them as a way of destroying their free will and transform them into zombie slaves. But with our four heroes, something always happens to stop the bad guys. My favorite was the insane Inosuke, whose dreamscape is just as nutty as the character is in real life, so the minion can't even figure what to do once she arrives. That was just perfect. 

As most of you should know, this is now the most successful Japanese movie of all time.

[DrNgor]

On 3/17/2022 at 11:15 AM, Takuma said:

Also, having been made in the 80s, when action was frowned upon and non-eventful character drama celebrated in Japanese cinema, the missing gun ends up playing secondary role to all the human relationship sub-plots. The good news is that Fujita handles it better than most, keeping the viewer moderately interested in the drama, without forgetting to include dry humour, casual sex, nudity, and one brutal rape

So action was frowned upon by filmmakers (or critics and audiences), but brutal rape is okay?

[Takuma]

6 hours ago, DrNgor said:

So action was frowned upon by filmmakers (or critics and audiences), but brutal rape is okay?

Yes.

[DrNgor]

9 hours ago, Takuma said:

Yes.

What the f***, people!

Edited April 8, 2022 by DrNgor