Joshû shokeinin Maria: Gekijô-ban (1995)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Shûji Kataoka

Writers:

Keiji Nakazawa (adaptation)
Shigeru Tsuchiyama (story)

Release Date:

18 November 1995 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Danger | Gun | Based On Comic | Shotgun | Death

Cast

Noriko Aota	...	Maria
Tetsuo Kurata	...	Igarasi
Koji Shimizu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Minako Ogawa
Shiro Shimogen
Masahiro Sudo

Also Known As:

Prisoner Maria: The Movie (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, and for sexuality.

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

GAGA Communications

Many borrowed themes...

1st watched 8/4/2002 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Shuji Kataoka(Japanese), Ruben Arvizu(American): Many borrowed themes clutter this original Japanese tough woman action movie. The story is about a prisoner with a life sentence, who does dirty work for the cops in exchange for being able to see her son in brief moments and the possibility of reversing her sentence(if this could be done). This particular quest & kill operation has to do with a mad pyshiatrist who is able to control people's minds to do whatever he wants(whether it be killing or prostitution). This is somehow linked to the Taiwanese mafia as well. This movie is obviously previously a TV show, or is one in the making because the ending leaves many things wide open. Without giving it away, one of the unfinished plots involves a relationship with a young cop and the other is whether of not she'll get out and ever see her son again. Ok for a dubbed movie, but too many strange & familiar plot twists to be serious entertainment.