Kyokatsu koso Waga Jinsei (1968)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Kinji Fukasaku

Writer:

Shinji Fujiwara (book)

Genre:

Crime | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Based On Book

Cast

Hiroki Matsukata	...	Muraki
Tomomi Sato	...	Otoki
Yôko Mihara
Tetsuro Tamba
Bin Amatsu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shigeru Amachi
Akira Jo	...	Zero
Hideo Murota	...	Seki
Eriko Sono
Ryohei Uchida

Also Known As:

Blackmail Is My Business (USA)
Blackmail Is My Life (USA) (DVD title)
Call Me Blackmail! (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (2008)

Company:

Shochiku Company

Movie Connections:

References Tôkyô nagaremono (1966)

Fun energetic cynical pop action film showcases corrupt 60s society.

How can a movie about low-lives using blackmail to get out of their scummy life be so much fun, and still carry a message about social corruption and racism? First, by being restlessly energetic. All the new wave film techniques are used here, jump cuts, flashbacks, moving whirling hand-held cameras, sharp angles.. The movie never slows down except for a few delicious very physical love scenes, the complex story is told through the action. A movie that seems made in a rush and is much better for it.

The stylish 60s fashions, amoral but sexy protagonists, pop art photography and snappy music make this movie fun. It also makes it easier to take the extremely cynical message underlying the whole film. The antiheroes on display are like rats in a sewer (a dead rat is a recurring image). They hang on to the memory of the few happy moments they had, and keep reliving it. They think they blackmail for money, but they are really acting to get back at the Big guys, to prove that even scum can rise above their station. Their friendship and bond comes out of necessity and common experience. But their chance at the big lights is fleeting: going out with a famous actress for a moment may be thrilling, but our heroes do not belong in that world .

The film portrays a Japan ruled by corruption, where mavericks and half-breeds have to scrape to survive. Nobody is good, starting with all of the seedy blackmail "victims". The film has very dark and cynical outlook, but don't let that description phase you, this is also an incredibly fun film to watch, with action, humor and overabundant style. Most critics rank this movie as one of the director's lesser films. I think it deserves much better. Definitely recommended to those who love 60s gangster movies.