Pale Flower (1964)
"Kawaita hana" (original title)

Muraki, a hardboiled Yakuza gangster, has just been released from prison after serving a sentence for murder. Revisiting his old gambling haunts, he meets Saeko, a striking young ... See full summary »

Director:

Masahiro Shinoda

Writers:

Shintarô Ishihara (based on the novel by), Masaru Baba (screenplay),

Stars:

Ryô Ikebe, Mariko Kaga, Takashi Fujiki

Cast

Credited cast:
Ryô Ikebe	...	Muraki
Mariko Kaga	...	Saeko
Takashi Fujiki	...	Yoh
Chisako Hara	...	Yakuza's lover
Eijirô Tôno	...	Gang leader
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Gang leader
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mikizo Hirata	...	Mizuguchi
Keiko Kuni	...	Waitress
Sôhei Kurata	...	Hayakawa
Shin'ichirô Mikami	...	Reiji
Hiroshi Mizushima
Shin'ya Mizushima	...	Sabu
Koji Nakahara	...	Tamaki
Tomoko Saitô	...	Geisha
Isao Sasaki	...	Jiro

Storyline

Muraki, a hardboiled Yakuza gangster, has just been released from prison after serving a sentence for murder. Revisiting his old gambling haunts, he meets Saeko, a striking young upper-class woman who is out seeking thrills, and whose presence adds spice to the staid masculine underworld rituals. Muraki becomes her mentor while simultaneously coping with the shifts of power that have affected the gangs while he was interred. When he notices a rogue, drug-addicted young punk hanging around the gambling dens, he realizes that Saeko's insatiable lust for intense pleasures may be leading her to self-destruction.

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Plot Keywords:

yakuza | japanese noir | hana fuda | gambler | based on novel

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 March 1964 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Fiore secco

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bungei Production Ninjin Club

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

The king of super-cool

Ryo Ikebe is perfect as the super-cool, sharply dressed ex-con who willingly seals his own fate despite his obvious intelligence and powers of perception. His body language is crisp and economical and his life experience is etched into his face. He is the Japanese doppleganger of the under-appreciated (except by Tarrantino) American actor Robert Forster. This is actually worthy of a remake starring Forster but I heavily doubt if any filmmaker can recreate the style and panache that Mr. Shinoda injected into every shot of the astonishing cinematography. In an interview on the DVD extra, he says that nihilism was his main theme but it's a quiet, shadow-covered nihilism, not explosive and bombastic. There are very few scenes of violence; action is not the show here. The heart of the film is the undefinable relationship between the adrenaline-loving rich girl and the yakuza hit man. Shinoda likens his position in life as the embodiment of post-war Japan caught between the Soviet Union and the USA. The climactic hit is brilliantly choreographed, shot and scored. Certain elements of Pale Flower evoked memories of The Face of Another, a totally different type of film that also explored the existential subjects of solitude, isolation and alienation.