Recently seen movies #51

Street Mobster (Japan, 1972) – 3/5

Fukasaku begins his anti-ninkyo revolution with this brutal and nihilistic yakuza film. Bunta Sugawara stars as a criminal who has abandoned the rules of the yakuza. To him honor and respect are nothing more than words. Fukasaku moves the film with lightning speed and often shoots the action with handheld camera. The hectic style is essential for depicting the world in which the characters live, but can also feel a bit exhauting in the long run. Sugawara is expectedly good as the hot headed street punk, and Asao Koike gives good support. The young Takeo Chii can be seen as one of the gang members.

Recently seen movies #50

Sympathy for the Underdog (Japan, 1971) – 4/5

A sort of transition point between new and old, this was the last yakuza film Kinji Fukasaku directed before he revolutionized the genre with jitsuroku (documentary) style approach. Sympathy for the Underdog is set to modern day Okinawa where a small gang (lead by old school legend Koji Tsuruta) attempt to take over the business from local gangs. Similarly to the 60’s ninkyo yakuza films Fukasaku inspects the themes of honor and social ties within the yakuza. The supporting cast is filled with great actors such as Asao Koike, Noboru Ando and Tsunehiko Watase. The most memorable performance is given by Tomisaburo Wakayama, who plays a local hard edged gangster.

Recently seen movies #49

Soul of Chiba (Japan – HK – Thailand, 1977) – 4/5

Zero Woman director Yukio Noda’s legendary Thailand vacation also goes by the name Soul of Bruce Lee. Monkey fighters, electroshock karate training, slow mo fight scenes, Bolo Yeung and other things that make a good movie are all included. Nice soundtrack and a bit cheapish but fitting old school look as well. The english dub could be a bit confusing at times, though. I never really found out if the killer was “Someone” or ”Sam Wan”… Anyway, Shinichi Chiba stars, and karate cutie Etsuko Shihomi plays flute! Great film.

Recently seen movies #48

Tony Takitani (Japan, 2005) – 4,5/5

When I saw Jun Ichikawa’s Tokyo Marigold last year I wrote ”Ichikawa’s masterpiece is near perfect movie making from start to finish. Beautiful film with no underlining or rush. Well acted throughout. Films like this make modern cinema worth watching.” The exact same comments can be applied to Tony Takitani. It’s darker, the main theme being loneliness, but it’s equally perfect in its execution. Ichikawa’s direction is truly admirable, and the soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto work flawlessly. Issei Ogata and Rie Miyazawa do amazing job in double roles. This kind of movies remind you how great cinema can really be.

Recently seen movies #47

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (Japan, 2006) – 2,5/5

Miike goes arthouse, with mixed results. If you watch this with an overly cynical attitude you’re bound to hate it; Miike seems to be more interested creating art than substance. Although praised as homo erotic love story by some, the psychological handling of the subject is somewhat tenuous. At the same time any other kind of characterization is completely missing. This is due to Miike’s unwillingness to take the traditional, easy path of storytelling. The attempt is ambitious, but the puzzle like structure actually takes two viewings to work (which was the case here). You still have to be able to forgive some overly pretentious scenes but if you have the will and concentration the film does deliver a lot of interesting brainwork. Visually Big Bang Love, Juvenile A, or 4.6 Billion Years of Love as the japanese title goes, is quite satisfying. Especially the lighting is used interestingly. The ending is also excellent. A slightly far out, but ultimately fitting comparison piece for the film would be Nagisha Oshima’s Gohatto (also starring Ryuhei Matsuda), which dealt with similar themes and symbolic imagery, but did it far more succesfully.

Recently seen movies #46

Zegen (Japan, 1987) – 3,5/5

A nationalistic adventurer tries to save Japan’s economy by running a brothel ring in China in Shohei Imamura’s early 20th century set satire. Although still not short (125 min) this time the director has managed to drop all unnecessary scenes from the movie. The film remains interesting and funny – although not in a laugh out loud kind of way – from start to finish. Ken Ogata’s performance as a man who never quite realizes ridiculousness of his own ideology is excellent.

Recently seen movies #45

The Man Who Stole the Sun (Japan, 1979) – 4/5

Kazuhiko Hasegawa, the screenwriter of the masterful cop film Retreat Through the Wet Wasteland, takes the directing duties in the most interesting film of the 70’s. Kenji Sawada plays a high school science teacher who decides to build an atomic bomb of his own. The film begins as a masterpiece but unfortunately, and for a reason that I couldn’t quite figure out, the director takes the film so over the top at the end, that it loses all its credibility. Perhaps Hasegawa wanted to further underline the fact that the film is indeed a black comedy, although a somewhat restrained one most of the time, but the outcome is nevertheless wrong. Still, even with the flaws the film is amazingly fascinating and memorable.

Recentry seen movies #44

New Female Prisoner Scorpion: Tokushu-bo X (Japan, 1977) – 3/5

Yet another clean start, this time with Yoko Natsuki in the lead role. She’s the least impressive of the three actresses that have played Sasori, but thankfully not all that bad. At least she looks good with the correct clothing… Yutaka Kohira’s directing is good but not especially inspired. The last 30 minutes is very succesfull, though. Another strength is the supporting cast. The warden is played by Toei’s uncrowned evil karate king Masashi Ishibashi. He doesn’t get to do any martial arts in this movie, but for once his role actually allows some minor acting, plus plenty of screentime. His right hand men are played by Hiroshi Tachi and Takeo Chii. Both are superb.

Recentry seen movies #43

New Female Prisoner Scorpion #701 (Japan, 1976) – 3,5/5

Toei resurrects the Sasori series two years after Meiko Kaji dropped out and brought the original series to an end. The new Nami Matsushima is played by Yumi Takigawa, best known from Norifumi Suzuki’s Convent of the Sacred Beast. She’s no match to Kaji, but her cute face and cold precence is quite fit for the role. Dragon Princess director Yutaka Kohira does solid job helming an enjoyable although not all that graphic women in prison film. The supporting cast features some enjoyable performances, especially by the men playing the prison guards. The most important part of the film is the last 20 minutes, which is a non-stop series of jaw droppingly great scenes. The sasori mythology is also in good use.

Recently seen movies #42

Eijanaika (Japan, 1981) – 3/5

Once again Imamura is dealing with real life subject, this time following the life of ”ordinary” people in the 1860’s Japan. But, this is no boring rice cultivation epic. Imamura’s choice of approach is comical satire. At 150 min the film could benefit from some editing although it manages to keep your attention well enough. The best thing about the film is the amazingly good performance by Kaori Momoi.