Brief introduction to Truck Yarou

One of Toei’s most succefull cash cows in the 1970’s was the Truck Yarou series. This 10 film series remains relatively unknown outside Japan, but it just may be director Norifumi Suzuki’s most remarkable work. Suzuki’s career could be divided into three parts. Western audiences are familiar with the middle part, the early 1970’s pinky violence movies. However, already before that Suzuki was an important yakuza film screenwriter and ditrector, being involved with a large number of ninkyo yakuza productions such as the Red Peony Gambler movies, of which Suzuki directed one and wrote seven. Suzuki became an official box office champion in the late 70’s with his mainstream friendly Truck Yarou films, which form the core of this final third of his career.

Truck Yarou stars Bunta Sugawara (Momojiro aka First Star) and Kinya Aikawa (Jonathan) as two truck drivers traveling across the country and making deliveries. Momojiro is an eternal bachelor, usually falling in love in every film, but never settling down. Jonathan is the opposite; he has a wife and too many kids. He can never tell them appart or remember their names. Both men tend to have problems with authorities, especially Jonathan who used to be a policeman. The authority issue is a regular theme in Suzuki’s movies. Most of his post yakuza-era films make fun of hypocrite teachers, policemen, priests, nuns etc.

The series features a terrific mix of low brow comedy, emotional drama, and action. Tearful family reunions (the supporting characters often turn out to be each other’s long lost sisters / brothers / daughters) walk in hand to hand with climatic car chases and regularly make way for naughty gags and female nudity. Suzuki’s exploitation preferences are sometimes visible, but always filtered through a mainstream lens. The Truck Yarou films are enjoyable, high energy movies for big crowds. Probably most surprising is that the mixture really works and even the drama parts are strong, rarely hurt by the surrounding comedy bits. One can also find fun references to timely events and movies. For example in the beginning of the seventh movie Momojiro dreams of his truck turning into a space ship. Yes, this movie was indeed released briefly after the Japanese opening of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Stars Wars.

While all 10 movies are good, most of them are excellent. The earlier films tend to be a bit more drama heavy and the best action scenes are seen in the later installments. One theme that is repeated in most films is festivals. Since the storylines takes the characters around Japan, Suzuki is given a good excuse to present local festivals and feast with beautiful landscapes. The cinematography and music are good throughout the series. The theme song is sung by Sugawara and Aikawa. It’s a great song and after just a few films becomes an unseparable part of the series. You’ll notice it at the latest in the 8th film where the song is not included, immediately hurting the viewing experience.

More or less all of the films share the same structure. There’s a delivery task, rival trucker, love interest for Momojiro, and a big finale where enemies usually become friends and help each other to make the final delivery while the police force throws everything they’ve got to stop the truck bastards. Some of the action scenes feature a bit of stock footage as Toei couldn’t afford to trash so many police cars. Scenes like restaurant fights and Momojiro’s visists to bathhouse (always bringing the girls some gifts related to his current delivery mission) appear in almost every film. A cynical viewer could say that if you’ve seen one or two Truck Yarou films you’ve seen them all. But these films are not made for cynical viewers. It is a part of the concept to always throw our beloved characters into somewhat similar but slightly modified situations.

One of series’s main attractions is the dekotora vehicles. The term is an abbreviation of Decoration Truck. In the 1970’s it became popular among lonely Japanese truck drivers to decorate their vehicles with wild artwork, exterior parts and neon lights. It was in interesting deviation of the traditional Japanese work harmony, and a way to express oneself. There trucks were gorgeous to look at especially at night time. The Truck Yarou series played important part in popularizing the phenomena in all of Japan. During the series’ course we get to see various different artworks and decorations on the main characters’ trucks. Some of the supporting characters would also drive very distinctive and memorable vehicles.

There’s a load of famous actors appearing in the series. The better you know Toei movies, the more faces you’ll be able to recognize. Even if you’re not a Japanese cinema aficionado, you’ll surely recognize some superstars like Sonny Chiba (in the 5th film) and Tomisaburo Wakayama (in the 6th film) playing rival truckers. Chiba’s role especially is memorable. He plays the leader of the Jaws gang (the trucks are numbered Jaws I, Jaws II, Jaws III etc.). Chiba’s fight scene with Sugawara is a classic comedy piece on both stars’ career. Other famous actors appearing in the films include Junko Natsu, Downtown Boogie Woogie Band (both in the 1st film), Tatsuo Umemiya (2nd film), Mieko Harada (7th film), and singer Sayuri Ishikawa (10th film), just to mention a few.

The successful series ran from 1975 to 1979, with two films being released every year. Apart from the finl film they were all Toei Top 10 box office hits in their release year. Director Suzuki still found time for other projects as well. Most interestingly, in his depraved 1979 exploitation film Beautiful Girl Hunter Suzuki made a direct reference to the Truck Yarou series. It was quite surprising to see two such different type of movies meet, even if it was just for one scene. Perhaps this connection will remind people of the versatility of both tough guy Sugawara and ”exploitation director” Suzuki. Indeed, most Western viewers who only know Sugawara from Kinji Fukasaku’s violent yakuza films will be very surprised to see him do some very silly physical comedy in the Truck Yarou films.

Films in the series:
Truck Yarou: Goiken muyou (トラック野郎　御意見無用 ) (1975)
Truck Yarou: Bakusou ichiban-boshi (トラック野郎　爆走一番星 ) (1975)
Truck Yarou Boukyo ichiban-boshi (トラック野郎　望郷一番星 ) (1976)
Truck Yarou: Tenka gomen (トラック野郎　天下御免 ) (1976)
Truck Yarou: Dokyo ichibanboshi (トラック野郎　度胸一番星 ) (1977)
Truck Yarou: Otoko ippiki Momojiro (トラック野郎　男一匹桃次郎 ) (1977)
Truck Yarou: Totsugeki ichiban-boshi (トラック野郎　突撃一番星 ) (1978)
Truck Yarou: Ichiban-boshi kita he kaeru (トラック野郎　一番星北へ帰る) (1978)
Truck Yarou: Neppu 5000 km (トラック野郎　熱風５０００キロ ) (1979)
Truck Yarou: Furusato tokkyubin (トラック野郎　故郷特急便 ) (1979)

Recently seen movies #166

The Terrifying Girls’ High School series (1972-1973)

Hitting the Toei theaters in the midst of their second Pinky Violence wave (preceded by Teruo Ishii’s period movies in the late 1960’s) Terrifying Girls’ High School movies were basically a high school variation of the Sukeban girl gang movies which ran from 1971 to 1974. The main difference was that the girl bosses would now wear school uniform, and the villains would include corrupt high corrupt school officials rather than just ordinary yakuza. The opening installment, Violent Women’s Classroom (1972), stars Miki Sugimoto as a heroine who must fight Ema Ryoko’s ruthless girls for the supremacy of the school. Reiko Ike co-stars as a sukeban who has not yet decided her side. This was the basic casting also in most of the Sukeban films, where Ike and Sugimoto would take turns playing the heroine / guest star. Poor Ema Ryoko was destined for villain roles and fight scenes where her shirt gets ripped for life.

Violent Women’s Classroom features little if any deviations from the genre conventions. It’s an enjoyable, fast paced exploitation film full of violent girls beating each other and making fools of their senile teachers. Typical to Suzuki, there’s a lot of humor included, and none of it can be described as very sophisticated. Nudity is plenty as well, but thankfully there are no long sex scenes interrupting the minimal storyline – something director Norifumi Suzuki has been found guilty of a few times before. Technical execution is of relatively high standard, as expected from a Toei production. The stylish theme song is performed by supporting actress Rika Sudo, and was re-used in the superior sequel, Lynch Law Classroom.

Lynch Law Classroom (1973), Norifumi Suzuki’s second attempt with the Terrifying Girls’ High School series, counts as one of the high points of the genre. Compared to its predecessor the follow up is a much darker film. Occasional silly comedy now walks in hand to hand with torture scenes that make reference to the Vietnam War! At the same time the film manages to be wildly entertaining (Reiko Ike’s introduction scene with a motorcycle is a small genre benchmark) and even beautifully shot at times. Dull moments are almost entirely missing for the film. The primary casting is the same as before (Sugimoto as heroine, Ike as guest star, Ryoko as villain), with Tsunehiko Watase’s sunglass wearing lone wolf yakuza being the most notable addition. The film’s most satisfying scene by far is the ending, which is high school anarchism at its best.

After Lynch Law Classroom the series lost two important talents; actress Miki Sugimoto and director Norifumi Suzuki. In Delinquent Convulsion Group (1973) Reiko Ike carries the lead role, leaving the film without a strong guest star. Probably standing out most (and not due to their acting talents) are the American actors who play evil drug dealers and rapists. Yes, this is yet another film that does not improve cross cultural understanding. Director Masahiro Shimura is no first timer in the field of exploitation cinema. He worked as an assistant director in the previous two films, and was also involved in screenwriting several Toei action films such as The Street Fighter (1974). His directorial filmography is short, but perhaps for a reason. While not a bad movie, Delinquent Convulsion Group is not among the genre’s best films, and this would appear to be largely Shimura’s fault. His direction is a bit sloppy, lacking the intensity and visual style of Suzuki’s best movies. Delinquent Convulsion Group is mainly saved some memorable scenes such as the sailor suit and machine gun finale.

The Terrifying Girls’ High School series ends with another Shimura effort. Unfortunately Animal Courage (1973) is the weakest of the four films. It suffers from similar problems as the previous film; Shimura directing features no sharp edges, and there are no strong supporting characters (although lead star Reiko Ike almost becomes one). The storyline is all over the place, and gives more room to sex scenes than action. There are visual highlights, but they tend to be inconsistent, and often the follow up doesn’t live up to build up. The soundtrack is somewhat restrained but does feature one rather stylish spaghetti western tune. Another ear pleaser is the language mix on offer; you’ll get to hear the girls speak French and English on language lessons. Yes, we are trying hard to find positives here…

Somewhat interestingly the film spends a considerable amount of time mocking Christianity (Yankee Mark Darling returning as a dirty priest), immediately making one suspect Suzuki had his fingers involved with the screenplay. Another cast member one might recognize is Harumi Tajima, who later made a rather memorable beach run in the final Sukeban movie (1974). Finally, and literally so, the film’s very last scene is quite excellent. Animal Courage may not have been the best way to end the series, but the last 30 seconds couldn’t have been better (rviewer note: it’s been approximately 2 months since I viewed this film and wrote this review, and I can no longer remember how the film ends).

Verdict:

Violent Women’s Classroom (Japan, 1972) – 3,5/5
Lynch Law Classroom (Japan, 1973) – 4/5
Delinquent Convulsion Group (Japan, 1973) – 2,5/5
Animal Courage (Japan, 1973) – 2/5

Recently seen movies #165

Love Exposure (Japan, 2008) – 5/5

Director Sion Sono is probably best known for his cult hit Suicide Club (2001). This beautiful yet disturbingly graphic satire used the horror genre as its playground and painted an image of hectic modern Japan where popular culture and the societal demands could even make suicide fashion. The semi-sequel Noriko’s Dinner Table (2005) dropped horror from the mix, and delivered a 2½ hour dive into the mind of a teenager desperately looking for her identity. Sono’s new film, 237 minute Love Exposure, is logical continuation to the director’s earlier works. It’s also one of the most massive and best movies of the decade.

The primary theme in Love Exposure is religion. The main character, Yu Honda, excellently played by Takahiro Nishijima from the pop-band AAA, is a teenager living in a deeply Catholic family. There are two important women in Yu’s life; his saint-like mother, and Virgin Mary. As a child Yu promises his mother to find his own Mary when he grows up and start a family. After the mother’s death Yu’s father (Atsuro Watabe) becomes a priest, but ultimately descends into depression and starts forcing his son into daily confessions. Being an extremely kind and good hearted person, Yu can’t think of any sins he might have committed. This, of course, is considered even a greater sin. To please his dear father Yu even tries to make up sins, but is soon caught lying. The only solution left is to start committing real sins.

Despite this insane and tragicomic religious circle presented in the film, it is not Sono’s intent to entirely bash Christianity. The director respects the origins of the religion – even as much to include the line “Jesus Christ was cooler than Curt Cobain”. The film’s characters – including Yu, who believes he can be a devout Christian by following the norms taught to him, but doesn’t realize religion should come from one’s own heart and be based on one’s own decision – are as much victims as abusers of religious ideals distorted in the course of time. In Sono’s mad world religions are only one part of the twisted system that also includes the pop-culture insanity of Suicide Club, and the murderous identity crisis seen in Noriko’s Dinner Table.

Love Exposure’s 17 year old protagonist finds his sinful calling in tosatsu, upskirt photography. Yu’s new hooligan friends introduce him to tosatsu legend Lloyd (Hiroshi Ohguchi) who accepts Yu has his student. In Japan tosatsu is reality and a somewhat popular underground phenomena. Photos are taken with most inventive techniques, including the cute puppy strategy, where camera is attached to a dog’s collar. When the victim kneels down to caress the innocent dog, a clean view opens for the camera. In Sono’s hands the art of tosatsu is taken far beyond this, and even kung fu techniques are applied to steal a photo. These scenes present some of the most outrageously amusing footage seen on silver screen in the recent years.

Yu’s plan of committing religious sins is a success to the extent of his father losing his temper and hitting Yu. Yu is only glad about this; it’s the most personal reaction in a long time from his father, who now hides under the priest’s gown and treats his own son like a stranger. However, there is another, even more important reason for Yu’s obsession with tosatsu. Yu believes it’s the only way to find Mary, who is hidden somewhere amongst the millions of people of Tokyo. The signal for finding the right person would be a hard on (you read that right) that Yu has never before experienced. Waiting for that day Yu spends his time with his new friends – shoplifters and perverts – who ironically form a more understanding community than Yu’s real family.

Family is a regular theme in Sono’s movies. In Noriko’s Dinner Table a father was desperately trying to track down his runaway daughter, while Strange Circus dealt with incest. Obviously Sono’s family portraits are quite different from those of Japan’s beloved but Sono’s hated filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Sono’s has even gone as far to call Ozu an Antichrist. It would seem appropriate to call Sono an Anti-Ozu. However, Sono’s family-hell depictions are not only angst towards the safe and unexciting Japanese cinema traditions, but also, to some extent, based by the director’s own life. This is also true to Love Exposure, which was influenced by the director’s tosatsu loving friend as well as Sono’s own experiences as being a part of a religious cult.

Drawn together from a 370 page screenplay Love Exposure features such a massive amount of story that the plot summary presented in this review is nothing but a brief introduction. What would seem like the beginning of end – with Catholism and tosatsu already thoroughly inspected – turns out to be only the first phase. Many important characters, such Koike (Eiji Okuda’s daughter Sakura Ando), karate skilled Yoko (Hikari Mitsushima), and mysterious Miss Sasori, disguised in black coat and Meiko Kaji hat, have not even made their appearance in the film by this point. It’s only after their introduction, around 58 minutes, when the film’s title screen appears, and the first of the story’s five chapters is brought to a conclusion.

While the storyline unravels with logic, it also manages to be completely unpredictable on its way to the eventual climax. Adjusting to the varying moods of its characters, the film modifies its style and approach several times. Influences have been taken from classic Japanese exploitation films, art house movies, and even Hong Kong action. Due to the long running time this variety is only welcome and does not make the film less coherent. In shorter form the mix would probably become nonsensical, which was also observed by the director when he prepared the producer-pleasing 2 hour test-version. On the other hand, Sono’s first draft ran six hours and was more explicit. In the 4 hour version, which is Sono’s final cut, for example sexual undertones are constantly present, but there are no graphic sex scenes or nudity.

The film’s most problematic part might be, as reversed as it may sound, the sequences around the 60 minute mark. These scenes represent such audio-visual perfection that anything that follows can’t possibly reach the same level. Especially the film’s soundtrack, part of which was created by the punk-pop band Yura Yura Teikoku, deserves recognition. Religious music is also used to a great extent, sometimes even simultaneously with pop songs. Typical to Sono’s movies, there’s a good amount of handheld cinematography , which fits the film’s style well. Still, as a whole Sono’s vision relies more on storyline than technical credits, and this softens the impact when moving on from the wildest parts to more casual storytelling. Nevertheless, the viewer should be prepared for slower pacing and a bit less outrageous plot turns during the film’s second half.

More than anything else Love Exposure is an experience. As such it may be slightly flawed, but it’s also endlessly fascinating and almost certainly different from anything created before in the history of cinema. The extreme length may put off casual viewers, but the film isn’t boring for one second. When the storyline finally wraps up after four hours the viewer can’t help but to wish Sono had depicted the chain of event even a little bit further. What might have happened next is a good topic for discussion after the film, as Love Exposure is sure to remain in the viewers mind for days if not weeks.

Recently seen movies #164

Kimi no tomodachi (Japan, 2008) – 4/5

Ryuichi Hiroki’s career is certainly not one without development. In the 1980’s one could find his name attached to sadistic pink films, sometimes made under the alias Go Ijuin (also used by Genji Nakamura and Hitoshi Ishikawa). Fast forward two decades and Hiroki has become a pioneer in digital filmmaking in Japan. His masterful 2005 film It’s Only Talk is one of the best Japanese movies from the past 10 years. Now Hiroki has made a beautiful movie about friendship between kids. Kimi no tomodachi follows two girls who become friends at the age of 10. The main part of the film takes place 5 years later, the present day being yet another five years later. Both girls are sick or injured; Yuka (Ayu Kitaura) has a kidney disease, and Emi’s (Anna Ishibashi) leg was permanently damaged in a car accident.

While Yuka and Emi are the core of the film, the storyline almost unnoticeably introduces new characters and smaller branches. It’s not obvious from the beginning, but just like these shorter stories that aren’t always brought to a conclusion, the entire film is more about friendship than telling any specific storyline. This structure is one of the aspects that Hiroki handles well in a film that is relatively conventional, but greatly benefits from the director’s touch. Hiroki doesn’t turn the film into a sad sickness story, or the most typical kind of ”memories of the good old days” offering that Japan is so keen on producing nowadays. There are some unsuccessful parts – such as bullying scenes that play out like All About Lily Chou Chou – but the numerous long takes and beautiful digital cinematography create several terrific scenes. In many ways Kimi no tomodachi is reminiscent of Hiroki’s earlier but inferior film Love on Sunday, which also was a very mainstream oriented screenplay seen though Hiroki’s sharp lens. Kimi no tomodachi is a greatly enjoyable film, even if not as good as the director’s best efforts.

Recently seen movies #163

I usually try to review good or at least interesting movies in this blog. But since readers come and go and I can’t expect many people be very familiar with my taste, it’s good to set the standards every now and then. Even if it happens at the expense of polluting my own blog with movies such as Memories of Matsuko…

Memories of Matsuko (Japan, 2006) – 1,5/5

Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma monogatari) was a supercharged JP Pop Culture typhoon that hit the target somewhat often – mainly thanks to the screenplay and actress Anna Tsuchiya – but also suffered from director Tetsuya Nakashima “crazy and cool” visual approach that mostly lacked real sense of style. Memories of Matsuko, an instant cult hit and masterpiece apparently, doesn’t fix the predecessor’s problems but emphasizes them. Matsuko’s life is hip beyond belief, and Nakashima’s 130 minute film doesn’t feature a single frame that isn’t digitally over-processed and full of wild details. The director does deserve some credit for his imagination; not everyone can create a mess as versatile as this. There is also a remotely sensical dramatic structure hidden somewhere under the visuals. The middle third of the film features some entertaining musical sequences and there’s a lot of small cameos from Hiroshi Yamamoto to AV star Sora Aoi. If it wasn’t for the unbearable serious ending that goes on forever one might even forget how appalling the film’s first 30 minutes were.