![]() Imagine a world where the mythological threads of fate have been replaced by scrolls, written by angels, that tell the life story of every human on the face of the Earth. And in so doing, he creates a comedy with more on its mind that mere postmodern hi-jinks. But what makes it special is how writer/director Sabu explores the consequences of the world he set up to their fullest potential. The idea behind Chasuke’s Journey could very easily be the basis for a hilarious comedy. When all is said and done, there’s only one question that truly needs answering: That all this meaty thematic stuff and character work plays second fiddle to shootings, chases, a brilliantly shot heist sequence, and some remarkably grisly torture is… well, that’s what noir is all about, isn’t it?ĭespite a retro (if catchy) jazz score and some ’60s era “modern” camerawork, Wolves, Pigs and Men feels oddly contemporary and even after half a century, hit with an impact that’s difficult to dismiss. ![]() He’s the sort of love-to-hate character that one salivates to see get his comeuppance… which, with noir, isn’t always a guarantee…) ![]() (Though the real wild card here is actually Mizuhara, Jiro’s bespectacled, sadistic, patently untrustworthy partner in crime. Unlike Sabu, who is loyal to his friends, or Kuroki, who is loyal to the system, Jiro’s only loyalty is to his own dreams of escape, making him the proverbial wild card. If nothing else, Sabu seems tear the roof off that facade once and for all.įinally, riding the fence like a true noir anti-hero is Jiro, who would just as soon wash his hands of the whole thing. They’ve so distanced themselves from the reality of what they do that they almost seem to believe it’s all business. Time and victory have led them to believe that the way they work is merely an extension of the way the world is supposed to work. This puts them in direct contrast with their elders, who built the system that keeps the next generation down, and by virtue of that, has a vested interest in keeping it in place. And when the brown stuff hits the fan (as it must), they believe their loyalty to one another will keep them safe. Sabu and his gang play at being nihilists, but for all their talk (to say nothing of singing and dancing) about how horrible their world is and how doomed they all are, they still betray hopes of getting theirs. And Jiro’s connection to his family is… ambiguous, at best.īut the larger theme is youth versus experience. Kuroki sees them as the physical incarnation of the destitute background he is desperate to distance himself from (the nightclub he’s looking to open through the patronage of Iwasaki is called the ‘Bar Phoenix’. Sabu resents his brothers, who left him to take care of their ailing mother. Spoiler alert: they’re pretty damn limited.įamily is, obviously, a major undercurrent of the film. There is the inevitable double cross, and Jiro and Sabu (as well as Kuroki, who is, for all intents and purposes, in league with Iwasaki) must determine the limits of familial obligation. Jiro gets involved in a plot to steal 40 million from the big boss Iwasaki, and enlists the aid of Sabu and his gang to act as decoys for a mere 50,000 each. Unlike Fukasaku’s later Yakuza epics, the machinations of Wolves, Pigs and Men are relatively contained and easy to follow. Newly released convict Jiro just wants out baby brother Sabu is the young and hungry leader of a gang of would-be anarchists and eldest Kuroki has pretty much gone corporate. The story revolves around three brothers, each at various levels of status in the crime game. “Don’t expect sunshine and lollipops” is the takeaway here… Of course, a noir coming from a country that was partially obliterated by atomic weapons is, more likely than not, going to skew a wee bit darker than in the west. ![]() Since America had shifted from detectives and gangsters to spies and gentleman thieves, it fell to Japan to carry on the grand tradition. So it comes as little surprise that his stab at noir is as intense and satisfying as it winds up being. Twice now in the Festival, Kinji Fukasaku has proven himself to be a master of underworld explorations. ![]()
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