A recently imprisoned ex-cop pursues the person(..or persons)responsible for the murder(..ruled a double suicide with his body found poisoned along with a hooker)of his former partner, infiltrating powerful mobs in the city, pitting them against each other through cunning manipulation, with his life always in danger. But, what will his reaction be when he discovers just who it was that caused his partner's death? Not as overtly complex as the film tends to get due to the lengths for which Jo has to go to stage the eventual showdown between the two Yakuza groups. Oftentimes, Jo has to worm his way out of nearly impossible situations where his true identity(..and motives)could be discovered any moment. Intense and determined, somehow, someway, Jo will find the person he seeks, even if it eventually kills him. Often, Jo is either beating somebody to a pulp or receiving punishment himself, all par for the course when dealing with nefarious Yakuza types.
Director Seijun Suzuki stages the action and plot with his usual eye-popping visual style and keeps the pace moving, always shooting characters from different angles..the film is never flat or static, and Suzuki is always able, it seems, to capture images and characters in unique and colorful ways. Most(..practically all) characters are criminals and lowlifes of some sort, and Jo, by default, is the easier person to root for because his reasons are motivated out of loyalty to a fallen comrade whose reputation was sullied by practitioners of evil. Jo Shishido is an interesting leading man(..reminding me of Takeshi Kitano after his unfortunate crash)because his face seems numbed into almost one expression, cold, driven, hate, willing to use anyone within the underworld to get his revenge. But, boy, that twist is a knock-out regarding the person responsible for his pal's death, and Jo's decision to allow punishment is equally shocking(..but somewhat satisfying).
Stunning set-pieces include how Jo defends himself while tied upside down to a chandelier as gangsters shoot at him, an impressive exterior shot of Yakuza boss Nomoto's whipping of a drug-addicted prostitute in his backyard as a yellow dust storm is transpiring, and how Jo is able to mastermind an effective escape from a hotel room where he was supposed to gun down a rival gangster(..which ends in a frenzy of violence) as police soon arrive on the scene. My favorite set-piece, an exercise in pure style, has Jo meeting Nomoto's gang for the first time, their business room slightly lower from the restaurant/club upstairs(..a window available for the criminals to see the action upstairs), and how Suzuki covers a lot of area/space as the real plot is set in motion was quite impressively shot and staged. My favorite character has to be the gay brother of boss Nomoto who responds unkind to anyone that mentions his mother was a whore(..he's quite a calm, very mild-mannered fellow until then).
Director Seijun Suzuki stages the action and plot with his usual eye-popping visual style and keeps the pace moving, always shooting characters from different angles..the film is never flat or static, and Suzuki is always able, it seems, to capture images and characters in unique and colorful ways. Most(..practically all) characters are criminals and lowlifes of some sort, and Jo, by default, is the easier person to root for because his reasons are motivated out of loyalty to a fallen comrade whose reputation was sullied by practitioners of evil. Jo Shishido is an interesting leading man(..reminding me of Takeshi Kitano after his unfortunate crash)because his face seems numbed into almost one expression, cold, driven, hate, willing to use anyone within the underworld to get his revenge. But, boy, that twist is a knock-out regarding the person responsible for his pal's death, and Jo's decision to allow punishment is equally shocking(..but somewhat satisfying).
Stunning set-pieces include how Jo defends himself while tied upside down to a chandelier as gangsters shoot at him, an impressive exterior shot of Yakuza boss Nomoto's whipping of a drug-addicted prostitute in his backyard as a yellow dust storm is transpiring, and how Jo is able to mastermind an effective escape from a hotel room where he was supposed to gun down a rival gangster(..which ends in a frenzy of violence) as police soon arrive on the scene. My favorite set-piece, an exercise in pure style, has Jo meeting Nomoto's gang for the first time, their business room slightly lower from the restaurant/club upstairs(..a window available for the criminals to see the action upstairs), and how Suzuki covers a lot of area/space as the real plot is set in motion was quite impressively shot and staged. My favorite character has to be the gay brother of boss Nomoto who responds unkind to anyone that mentions his mother was a whore(..he's quite a calm, very mild-mannered fellow until then).