Kanto Wanderer review
Editor’s Note: This entry completes our trio of retro reviews, but we hope to have a brand new one of The Host coming your way soon. – Mazinga
The way of the Yakuza is to wear red clothes or white.
Avant-garde Japanese director Seijun Suzuki has earned a reputation for injecting his trademark unconventional style into even the genre films he did for studios in his early career. One notable example is Kanto Wanderer (Kanto mushuku), a ninkyo eiga, or chivalry film, Seijin helmed for the Nikkatsu studio in 1963.
Although the film’s story, from a screenplay by Yasutaro Yagi, hews to the Yakuza-flick convention of portraying an honorable gangster, Suzuki gives the flick a much greater impact with his visual experimentations. Just as later directors such as wild man director Takashi Miike would delight in twisting audience expectations of genre flicks, Suzuki throws a number of stylistic curves in his film.
This superb and stylish Yakuza film was released by Home Vision Entertainment as part of a trifecta of Suzuki flicks that also includes Tattooed Life and Underworld Beauty.
The film opens not with a group of cool, tough-guy gangsters, but a trio of giggling schoolgirls. They gossip over the secret crush one of their number, Tokiko (Chieko Matsubara) has on the stern but polite Yakuza bodyguard Katsura (genre stalwart Akira Kobayashi), who sports a traditional yukata (light kimono) and a fierce-looking scar on one cheek.
The viewer quickly realizes that Katsura adheres to notions of tradition and honor that the other members of his gang consider outmoded. Where they wear loud Western clothes and lounge about in idly insolent fashion, Katsura sticks to traditional Japanese dress and kneels in a rigid formal posture that conveys his stern self-discipline.
Katsura explains to Tokiko the meaning of a slogan inscribed on the wall of the Yakuza den, that Yakuza are destined to wear red clothes or white. Red clothes were the garb of convicted criminals, while white is the traditional color for burial shrouds. It means, Katsura says, that gangsters are prepared to die or go to prison for their boss, much like the honor code of samurai of old.
Intrigued by the bad-boy appeal of the Yakuza world, the trio watches the rival gangster Diamond Fuyu get a tattoo applied. Tokiko’s friend Hanako, in particular, is fascinated by the painful process, and returns to the Yakuza den several times with Fuyu, who’s clearly fallen for the cute schoolgirl. Unfortunately, she’s snared in a police raid on Boss Izu’s gambling den and hauled off to the pokey.
Although Boss Izu has lost face by having his last gambling den raided – and having an innocent busted to boot – he’s more interested in pursuing political graft than protecting his turf. It’s the tradition-minded Katsura who visits the police station with a tribute of food and booze and gets Hanako sprung.
Unfortunately, Hanako soon gets in trouble again when Tetsu, a lowlife flunky working for Izu, convinces her to play a “game” – pretending to be a hooker to set up unwitting salarymen for intimidation by Tetsu. But when her first customer proves wise to the game, Tetsu sells her out for a quick buck. And to make matters worse, Tetsu punches out Diamond Fuyu, who’s worried about his inamorata, thus creating friction between rival Yakuza factions.
Once again, the honorable and tradition-minded Katsura tries to set matters right. He tries to visit Fuyu to apologize, but instead meets a woman from his past: Fuyu’s sister, Mrs. Iwata.
Through a highly stylized flashback, the viewer learns that Mrs. Iwata is a con artist, and that Katsura got his facial scar defending her when her suckers got wise. The flashback appears in an almost static tableau like a stage play, dimly lit save for a bright white overhead light illuminating Mrs. Iwata. (Theatrical lighting shifts will prove something of a signature for Suzuki throughout the film.) The present-day sequence, too, is highly stylized, but this time due to the deliberately formal bearing of Katsura and Mrs. Iwata. They kneel across from each other on a tatami mat while Mrs. Iwata – who gives no indication of recognizing Katsura – offers tea. This outwardly serene but emotionally charged scene repeats several times on subsequent visits until Katsura apologizes, sweeps Mrs. Iwata into his arms and kisses her.
Alas, the calls of giri, which means duty or obligation, dooms their love from the outset. Not only is Mrs. Iwata tied through her brother to a rival Yakuza gang, but she’s married to the notorious gambler and cheat Okaru-Hachi. When Katsura, still trying to fulfill his giri and redeem his clan’s honor, drags the reluctant Tetsu on a mission to reclaim Hanako, he has to restrain the slacker gangster from participarting in Okaru-Hachi’s crooked game of hanafuda (Japanese cards). Katsura points out some of the card sharp’s tactics, such as dealing over a shiny cigarette case that gives him a glimpse of his opponents’ hands.
But in a tense and dramatic scene, after Okaru-Hachi cleans out a bunch of unwitting real estate men, Katsura suddenly requests a game. Although nothing is spoken, Okaru-Hachi realizes that Katsura is wise to the cigarette case trick, and puts it away. What follows is a riveting clash of wills and skill.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Iwata too is bound by giri. Although she genuinely loves Katsura, she helps her husband cheat him out of the money he intended to redeem Hanako. She had begged him not to play cards with her husband, because they both know what her duty will force her to do. Indeed, Katsura seems to see the game as much as a challenge of her feelings for him as in Okaru-Hachi’s skill at gambling.
Afterwards, Mrs. Iwata tries to serve Katsura refreshment, but he refuses to turn and look at her. Yet his disciplined bearing reveals none of the anger he must feel. Instead, he dryly observes that he’s a wiser man now, and thanks Mrs. Iwata for her role in his education. Still, his disappointment in his lover is palpable, as is his dawning realization that he’s all but alone in upholding the Yakuza traditions of honor.
By the time Diamond Fuyu and Katsura meet over a bottle of sake, they realize that they have much in common as honorable men. Too, the origins of the clash between their factions that has made them enemies has become hazy and obscure. Still, Katsura doesn’t tell the still-pining Fuyu what he knows about Hanako, a choice that obviously pains him.
The film’s climactic scene is justly famous. An outraged Katsura – who strips off his yukata to reveal an intricate Yakuza tattoo – cuts down a pair of gangsters with a sword, dispatching each with a single stroke. As their bodies fall, the white paper screens of the room fall away to reveal a searing red backdrop, with Katsura standing silhouetted before it, weapon in hand. The red symbolizes Katsura’s willing acceptance of the inevitable prison term. It’s a brilliant and unforgettable visual moment.
Katsura’s act sets in motion a chain of events that shake up the corrupt Yakuza bosses in unexpected ways. Katsura’s opposite number Diamond Fuyu proves to be indeed an honorable man willing to uphold the Yakuza code. Unfortunately, Fuyu’s very sense of honor is easily manipulated by his boss, who embodies the decadence and corruption that afflicts even the young Hanako.
True to the traditions of the tragic clash between love and obligation, the film’s ending is bleak. But the final shot shows Katusra proud and undaunted even in his prison cell. Katsura realizes that his clan was unworthy of his selfless act, but he retains his honor and has no regrets. Ironically, even though his sacrifice fails to help his gang, Katsura understands that remaining true to his personal code is more important. Thus he at last places his own needs above those of the decadent Yakuza that he’s surpassed.
Home Vision’s DVD presents the film in 2.35:1 aspect ratio and mono sound for its sole Japanese language track (English subtitles are, of course, provided). The film is superbly preserved; Suzuki’s powerful use of color and lighting truly shines through in this awesome digital transfer. Extras are fairly sparse, consisting of a filmography of director Suzuki and the original theatrical trailer. There’s also a nice DVD insert with erudite liner notes by MidnightEye.com’s Tom Mes.
Kanto Wanderer is a stylish and unconventional take on the ninkyo eiga genre. It takes the action and drama of the traditional Yakuza flick to a new level of theatricality without going off the deep end of avant-garde obscurity, as Suzuki’s later works earned a reputation for doing. Kanto Wanderer is a visually arresting and entertaining flick. Through Home Vision’s fine DVD presentation, it’s a worthy addition to the collection of any fan of Japanese cinema.
Kanto Wanderer
Publisher: Home Vision Entertainment
Starring: Akira Kobayashi, Hiroko Ito, Chieko Matsubara
Directed By: Seijun Suzuki
Related Links:
Kanto Wanderer IMDb entry
Official HVe site
Kanto Wanderer DVD at Amazon.com
Second opinion at DVDVerdict.com
Second opinion at Popmatters.com
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