Samurai Films (15 page)

Not as enjoyable as
Baby Cart on the River Styx
,
Baby Cart to Hades
is nevertheless a strong entry in the series. Featuring more exaggerated comic-book violence, this is the first film in which Itto takes on an entire army.

This film puts Itto into a number of new situations, the most interesting of which takes place when he and Daigoro help Ometsu, a girl who is to be sold to a brothel. The plight of the innocent is not usually something Itto concerns himself with, not part of the assassin’s path he has chosen. This predicament leads to some interesting negotiations between Torizo, a yakuza who wants the girl back, and Itto, who refuses to hand her over. The solution is typical of Itto; he agrees to undertake a series of tortures so that the girl can be set free, as described in a yakuza custom. It’s a perfect opportunity to show just how tough Itto is; the entire time he is beaten, Itto doesn’t make a sound, something which terrifies his torturers, and reinforces his stoic fortitude. Similarly, the supporting characters of
Baby Cart to Hades
add depth to the film, making it more than just an exercise in bloody action sequences. Kanbei, the conflicted ronin, and Genba, the treacherous and paranoid samurai, drive the more thought-provoking material in the film, providing an intriguing backdrop to the action.

The best aspect of
Baby Cart to Hades
is, of course, the epic battle scene, which takes place towards the end, in which Itto destroys Genba and his army singlehandedly. Despite the overblown manga style of the series, it must surely have been a challenge to choreograph such a scene convincingly. First Itto kills some enemies with guns and bombs, then he wades in, moving quickly among them, his blade flashing. Wakayama is at his bodycount best in these scenes, and moves with such fluidity and precision you simply enjoy the scene, never questioning its preposterous nature.

The
Lone Wolf and Cub
series was still going strong with its third film, featuring top-notch performances from Wakayama and Tomikawa, and plenty of the requisite, fiercely paced battle scenes.

Yuki Kashima is born into a life of vengeance. Her mother is unable to avenge the murders of her husband and child, so she conceives and gives birth to Yuki, in the hope that her daughter can finish what she started. Yuki is trained by a harsh samurai turned priest, and honed into a lethal assassin. Ready to begin her quest, Yuki employs the help of a clan of beggars to track down the gang of criminals who murdered her father and older brother 20 years earlier. First she finds Banzo, who has become a truly pathetic old man, reduced to cheating at gambling and living off the prostitution of his daughter, Kobue. He puts up no resistance as Yuki cuts him down. Yuki is disappointed to discover her next victim has seemingly already died, and angrily strikes at his tombstone. Yuki’s mentor tells her story to a young journalist, Ryurei, in the hope that publicising her story will draw out Otora, the last survivor of the murderers. Yuki’s attempts at revenge are frustrated yet again when, after a bloody exchange, Otora appears to hang herself. It turns out that Yuki’s earlier target is not dead at all, and is in fact Ryurei’s father, and a corrupt and wealthy weapons dealer. Yuki confronts and kills him, and Ryurei also dies in the process. Wounded, Yuki staggers into the snow, where she is stabbed by Kobue, intent on avenging her father.

Lady Snowblood
is a compelling study of revenge, and a welcome counterpoint to the many genre films which glorify ‘getting even’. The film also looks fantastic, with highly stylised direction from Toshiya Fujita.

Lady Snowblood
is primarily concerned with showing the ultimate futility of revenge. This is illustrated through the experiences of Yuki, herself a living instrument of revenge. Yuki is a sympathetic protagonist rather than a heroic one; she has been trained to avenge the murders of her family her whole life, deprived of a normal existence and life’s simple pleasures. The beautiful Meiko Kaji is perfectly cast in the role, convincingly portraying Yuki’s pain as she is forced to make difficult decisions about her revenge and showing frightening rage when she confronts the real villain of the film.

The first victim of Yuki’s revenge, Banzo, is a weak old man who offers no resistance to Yuki’s blade. Hardly a satisfying victory. Worse still, she meets Kobue, his loving daughter, and must face the thought of depriving this girl of her father. Yuki’s actions set Kobue on the same course she has been following; Kobue too must give up a normal life as she focuses on vengeance.
Lady Snowblood
thus reveals the futility of revenge; it is simply an endless cycle of violence which brings nothing but pain to all those involved.

True to the manga origins of
Lady Snowblood
, the story is told in a distinctive style. Director Fujita makes use of a number of interesting techniques. Yuki’s murder of a gang leader at the film’s beginning is extremely stylised; there is a slow-motion shot of Yuki as she somersaults over her opponents then a series of rapid shots as she dispatches them. There is no shortage of blood, and Fujita makes constant use of the red-on-white motif, either blood on snow or on the white portions of the Japanese flag. The montage in which a portion of novelist Ryurei’s work on Yuki is read aloud is also very striking, and makes use of dynamic, manga-style art imposed over shots of people feverishly buying the book.

Interestingly,
Lady Snowblood
is listed as one of the inspirations for Quentin Tarantino’s
Kill Bill
films. Although both feature a tortured female protagonist seeking revenge, Tarantino takes the much more predictable route of glorifying revenge, rather than condemning it.

Lady Snowblood
is a prime example of the samurai film’s ability to interrogate notions of violence and revenge, and a must-see for fans of the genre.

Itto is hired by Kuroda clan samurai, after they test his skill as a warrior. His assignment is to recover a document, which reveals that the young heir of the clan is in fact a girl, born to Naritaka (the current lord) and his favourite concubine. Naritaka’s son, Matsumaru, the true heir, is being hidden in a tower. The document is in the possession of Jikei, a powerful Abbot, who intends to deliver it to the Yagyu, who will expose the scandal and ruin the clan. Finding Jikei at a temple, Itto finds he cannot bring himself to strike him, as Jikei has reached a state of perfect enlightenment. Meanwhile Daigoro has run into some trouble of his own. A pickpocket, ‘Quick Change’ Oyoo, leaves him holding her loot as she flees from Senzo, an inspector. Daigoro refuses to identify Oyoo, even when Senzo beats him. Oyoo is so touched by his loyalty she promises never to steal again. A Kuroda woman named Shiranui hires Itto to kill Naritaka, his mistress and the false heir, so that the true Matsumaru can become lord of the Kuroda, an assignment which Itto accepts. As Jikei sails across a river, Itto cuts the bottom of the boat out from under him, killing him swiftly underwater and taking the document. Shiranui intentionally wets the document, making it blank, but Ogami delivers it to the Kuroda anyway. In the castle of the Kuroda, Itto challenges Naritaka about his deception, and the lord orders his men to kill him. Itto defeats them, fighting his way to Naritaka and fulfilling his assignment. The young Lord Matsumaru is now able to take his rightful place.

Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
is a return to form for the
Lone Wolf and
Cub
series, after the slight disappointment of
Baby Cart in Peril
. This film is almost as good as
Baby Cart on the River Styx
, the best of the series.

Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
is supported by a driving plot, which not only keeps the film moving at a nice pace, but also provides the excuse for compelling scenarios and visceral fight scenes. The idea that Itto must defeat a succession of samurai to begin his assignment, each one giving him a portion of his instructions and fee, is magnificent, and works very well on screen. Other plot elements, such as the Kuroda secret document which everyone wants and will kill to get, ensure that
Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
is always exciting in its twists and turns.

This film also contains some of the most violent and well-choreographed battle scenes in the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series. As usual, Tomisaburo Wakayama is magnificent. He moves with perfect precision in his fight scenes, and
Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
is full of classics. The duels towards the beginning, against the men sent to test him, are especially worthy of mention. The scenes of Itto fighting his way through the Kuroda palace are also particularly well realised, with plenty of rapid cuts and pans. The gore level is high; watch for the messenger giving Itto his assignment as he burns alive, or the brutal shot in which Itto literally cuts a man in half.

Also worthy of mention is the scene in which Daigoro stoically covers for a pickpocket, even when he’s beaten by an inspector. Itto looks on, proud that his son has honourably kept his promise.

Director Kenji Misumi restores the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series to the former levels of excitement he reached with the second film in the series. Not only a welcome entry to the series, but a fine samurai film in its own right.

Yuki has survived the seemingly fatal wound she received at the end of the first film, but has been sentenced to death for her crimes. She is rescued by members of Japan’s secret police, headed by Kikui, who wants Yuki to assassinate Ransui, an anarchist who poses a real threat to Kikui and Terauchi, the minister of justice. Yuki accepts the assignment and poses as Ransui’s maid, but finds herself bonding with him and his wife, Aya. Ransui figures out that Yuki is Lady Snowblood, and explains to her that Kikui and Terauchi unlawfully executed a large group of his anarchist friends, and that he has a document which proves it. Should the document be made public, Kikui and Terauchi will be ruined. Yuki becomes Ransui’s protector, but he is arrested. Yuki takes the document to Shusuke, Ransui’s brother. Shusuke runs a clinic in a slum, but his motivations are different to his brother’s. He plans to blackmail Kikui and Terauchi to give the people of the slums food and money. Ransui is beaten and tortured by the police, who eventually release him, but they have injected him with plague. He soon dies, and Aya, distraught with grief, attacks the police, who kill her. Shusuke reveals that Aya was once his wife, and left him for his brother. He continues with his blackmail plot, even though he too is now suffering from the plague. Yuki delivers Shusuke’s terms to Kikui, who responds by setting fire to the slums, hoping to kill Shusuke and burn the document. Yuki finds Shusuke still alive among the wreckage, and together they attack Kikui and Terauchi, killing them. Shusuke himself dies in the fighting and Yuki is left alone again.

The second and final film of the Lady Snowblood series,
Love Song of
Vengeance
is much more political than
Lady Snowblood
. Although the first had some political overtones, it was in the main a revenge-oriented tale. Rather than repeat this formula, the filmmakers chose to tell a very different and distinct story.

Unlike most samurai films,
Love Song of Vengeance
takes place in the Meiji era of Japanese history, just after the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–1905. This is after the abolition of the Shogunate and the dissolution of the samurai class, and the beginnings of a more industrialised Japan. The political themes in the film focus around a pair of activist brothers and their struggle against some corrupt government officials. This makes for a compelling story, as Yuki, Ransui and Shusuke struggle against their powerful enemies, who go to great lengths to conceal their murderous pasts, even setting fire to a large slum, which is home to many people. The central theme of resistance against corrupt authority works very well in this film, reminiscent of the work of Masaki Kobayashi.