Review CLI - けんかえれじい

Review 151
Fighting Elegy (1966)

Seijun Suzuki (鈴木清順) entered my life and well, he never left. Having started his filmography with Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者) and followed with Branded to Kill (殺しの烙印), it was bound to continue. This time, I checked out the forever-violent Fighting Elegy (けんかえれじい) starring Hideki Takahashi (高橋英樹), Junko Asano (浅野順子), and Yûsuke Kawazu (川津祐介).

Kiroku Nanbu (高橋英樹) has fallen madly in love with Michiko (浅野順子), without any release for his love. He fears destroying her innocence, and his Catholic prospects stop him from expressing any sexual desire. Consequently, thanatos takes over as his way to alleviate the pressure. With Turtle (川津祐介) taking him under his wing, Kiroku Nanbu claws his way to the top of the machismo social ladder.

If you're familiar with Seijun Suzuki's work, you already know what to expect in terms of violence. However, Fighting Elegy is in black and white, escaping from the beautiful colours presented in Tokyo Drifter (among others), which is unfortunate, I must say. However, if you're new to Seijun Suzuki, let me say that this is one Japanese filmmaker who stands apart. Now, Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) and Yasujirō Ozu (小津安二郎) are phenomenal directors whose work continues to inspire, but you know when you sit down and watch À bout de souffle (Breathless) for the first time? You remember that feeling of uneasiness and shock that you aren't in normal French cinema? Well, that's Seijun Suzuki's work. He is, in a way, the New Wave of Japanese cinema, taking risks, going nuts. So much so that he basically got fired after Tokyo Drifter came out and the sequel to Fighting Elegy was put into limbo and never completed. Even if you can't really enjoy the weirdness of his films, you can nonetheless appreciate his cinematography and palette choice from his films if nothing else. Plus you got Mr. Cheeks (Jō Shishido (宍戸錠)) from some of his films, which never ceases to make me laugh. No offense, Mr. Shishido - you're still great.

Fighting Elegy does not disappoint in his style, though I would say it is tamer than the two other films I watched from him. The violence is still there - oh yes, is it there - but I find the plot didn't delve into crazy spots like in Branded to Kill. So if you're looking to be introduced to Seijun Suzuki's work, Fighting Elegy is not a bad start. However, I can't say it was my favourite. I got a great laugh from the opening scenes with Kiroku Nanbu's adolescent lust for Michiko, all while fanning over the love birds and missing the innocence of teenagehood, but I kept yelling at Kiroku Nanbu to just pay attention to Michiko as she obviously crushed on him. And the thanatos part really went far. I dunno, with the mace and changing prefecture (is it correct to put it that way?) insanity, I can't really say I dug the whole view on machismo. Our protagonist could have gone to anything else, but instead went to hardcore violence and believed he could still get Michiko from it. Since the source material was from a book, I can't really blame Seijun Suzuki (although apparently he took many liberties with the script), but it still made the plot kind of eh for me. I think Seijun Suzuki's work in hitman/yakuza stories works well, especially when he's given liberty. Fighting Elegy definitely wasn't bad in its plot, but the more it went on, the more I just sat there wondering what the hell was going on - and not because Seijun Suzuki was going topsy-turvy with the plot.

Otherwise, what about cinematography? It had some typical Seijun Suzuki moments, like in the bar, but I must say that his work with colours has really been my absolute favourite, so my bias means I missed out in Fighting Elegy. As well, since I feel like our beloved director was trying to make more of a quote unquote normal film, it didn't have the same level of craziness that I remember from Branded to Kill. But it has also been a while, so I'd have to get back to you on that.

In the end, the film has some Seijun Suzuki flavour, but it lacks his superb yakuza story telling, it isn't super colourful (which he handles so well), and it isn't his most New Wave-y film. Again, if you're looking to slowly dip into the pool of Japanese New Wave, Fighting Elegy is the way to go. If you're a sommelier of Seijun Suzuki, I would say it isn't his best. It's still worth a watch for his take of a school tale ("Chasing girls is a sign of weakness! Break all the rules!"), a good laugh (at least initially), and a freakin' crazy mace, but he's definitely released better. Honestly, though, that mace haunts my nightmares *shudders*

Review CXLII - Django

Review 142
Django (1966)

I've been binge watching westerns for some reason, and, well, I decided to check out Sergio Corbucci's Django, starring Franco Nero, Loredana Nusciak, and Ángel Álvarez. Instead of boring you with an intro, let's go ahead with this review. Also, I don't know why I keep finding these wonderful Japanese posters for films, but whatever - accept it!

Django (Franco Nero) carries a coffin with him as he journeys the desert, only to happen upon a young prostitute, Maria (Loredana Nusciak), about to be executed. Saving her only opens a can of worms he hoped to avoid.

What can I say about Django? Guys, it was awesome. It is considered one of the best Westerns out there, and I must say, it deserves that status. Of course we all know the brilliance of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the other classics Sergio Leone threw at us, but honestly, Django is brilliant in its own way. I know the film is considered a loose adaptation of 用心棒 or Yojimbo, and as I mentioned in my review of the film, A Fistful of Dollars is basically a rip-off in terms of plot. However, Django really does have an originality to it. The elements of 用心棒 are there with a town being plagued by opposing factions, but otherwise, we actually have story in our protagonist that separates it from our protagonist in the Japanese classic. 用心棒, with its quirky music and jokester antics, made you smile and laugh. I would say A Fistful of Dollars was more serious, but they kept a little bit of hilarity with the grave keeper. However, Django keeps the serious tone throughout the film. The film starts with a man carrying a coffin for Christ's sake and the abuse of a woman. It presents itself completely different in tone. This really sets it apart from the strictly-following-用心棒 A Fistful of Dollars already.

Next, the story itself. As I said, the plot of Django does contain the primary theme of its Japanese counterpart, but it isn't quite the same. Slight spoilers here for the rest of the paragraph, so stop if you want to be completely surprised. Right, so, in the original, Kuwabatake sends the two groups to finish each other off all while getting a reward from them - just as is the case of Joe the stranger in A Fistful of Dollars. However, our protagonist in Django strays from this and instead has actual history with the ex-Confederate military occupants, particularly the leader (Eduardo Fajardo). He also knows the leader (José Bódalo) of the opposing Mexican revolutionaries and helped him out once. Django himself is a Yankee, and so he helps out the Mexicans. He only decides to doublecross them when he wishes to seek a new life with Maria and General Hugo tells him he has to wait until he overthrows the Mexican government. So we see that Django is really just trying to seek revenge on Major Jackson, or at least trying to get over his first love.

Really, in the end, what sets Django sets apart is the humanization of his character. There's a story, there's a man. A lot of westerns deal with this badass who has immense skill and is trying to earn a quick buck. There might be some romantic affiliation, but we never get a fully developed character. Granted, there is some in For a Few Dollars More, but this one is not revenge. Django denies his love because he was hurt once, all while Maria tells him to give up his fantasies to be with her. I dunno, to me, it just showed a vulnerability not present in most other westerns. You feel like Django could lose everything and that not everything goes his way. It was just so great. Positively and utterly fantastic. And I will give a great, huge nod to Franco Nero for catching this because with any less acting, with any less emotion, this character would have been wasted. The glee on his face, the cries of pain, the poker face... Sigh! Just great, absolutely great!

I should also mention that, while Maria is not a huge focus and her character is developed less, she nonetheless has some type of characterisation that pushes her to seek her needs. But given that she wasn't a big focus and her face rarely changed from poker face, Django still stands out as the most developed.

The cinematography was average, not as stupendous as in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, but it nonetheless tells the story. Scenes have nice colours at least, right? As for music, well, the theme is brilliant. Definitely worthy.

My only major complaint with the film actually lies in one scene which, honestly, I wasn't sure if it was placed for fetishistic purposes or what. Basically there's a scene where the prostitutes are arguing over Maria being the source of their troubles, and they start fighting in mud. It went on for way too long - plus they fight like shit. It was pointless and I think they could have easily have taken all that out.

In the end, Django is a no-mercy powerful telling of a man who is stuck in the past and needs to move on. You watch this for that story and to see the brilliance of Franco Nero. Anything less from the man would have produced a mediocre spaghetti western, but his story and portrayal, as well as ballsy violence, really put this film on the high shelf for me. Watch this - you won't regret it!

Oh, and postscript - I checked out the dubbed version as it was the only one available, and it was really, really bad. Please watch the subbed version, even if you aren't a fan of reading. The dub really takes away from the movie and had me laughing at serious moments.

Trailer is the Italian one because that dub DESTROYS ME.