The "Pinku" genre came unto it's heyday in the 1970's but this film is considered by some as a precursor to the extreme genre that became a staple of Japanese cinema. Certainly this film has many of the exploitation elements that make a classic Pinku film.
Ohyaku is a tightrope entertainer/prostitute who as a little girl was nearly killed by her suicidal mother. Raised by a theater troupe she entertains with her incredible tightrope skills and is rented out to the highest bidder after the show. A ronin/professional thief Shin sees her during a performance and is smitten. He rescues her from a rapist bureaucrat who she was sold to for a night. Ohyaku falls for the thief but their happiness is short lived as the Shin is preparing to rob the local mint. The plan fails and Ohyaku and Shin fall into the hands of the bureaucrat who horribly tortures Ohyaku and kills Shin. She is sent to Sado Island, a miserable prison island and thrown into an all male prison. In addition, Ohyaku comes into the lustful gaze of the warden's evil lesbian wife/tattooist. Can Ohyaku survive and escape to fulfill her revenge?
Shot in excellent black & white photography and with many attributes one would associate with a typical Japanese period drama, this film is never the less filled with over the top exploitative scenes. While no nudity is on display, the rapes, non-consensual sex and rape threats are frequent. The torture scenes are lengthy and rough. Ohyaku's revenges are equally lengthy and her victims don't go quickly, she wants to torment them first. Now that's enough for some people to check out this film but does the rest of it hold up? Sort of. There are several very corny scenes that even the excellent actors can't really make any better.Anyone who is a fan of Tomisaburo Wakayama will be disappointed as he doesn't lift a sword once.
Decent female fighter film.
