Samurai Films (14 page)

Another strength is the film’s intriguing villain, Yamikubo, the blind lord of the yakuza. Zatoichi and Yamikubo share a variety of interesting and amusing lines on the subject of their blindness, but Yamikubo turns out to be every bit as ruthless (perhaps more so) as any other yakuza boss. Masayuki Mori plays this character very well, fashioning a credible rival for Zatoichi, and deserving of his rage.

Like all Zatoichi films,
The Festival of Fire
contains the requisite battle scenes. The incident when Zatoichi is attacked by a large group of naked yakuza in a bathhouse is as brutal as it is bizarre, and the climactic scene, in which he’s trapped by his enemies on a platform in the middle of a pool, makes for a tense spectacle, particularly when oil in the pool is set alight, trapping Zatoichi in a ring of fire.

This is a great film to watch if you’ve never seen any Zatoichi films; everything that made the series such a success is present. Highly recommended.

Itto Ogami was once the Shogun’s second, his job to assist daimyos who have offended the Shogun in committing seppuku. The Yagyu clan, jealous of his position, murder his wife and attempt to frame him for disrespectful behaviour towards the Shogunate. Itto and his infant son survive, and both embark on the path of the assassin, hoping to eventually inflict their revenge on the Yagyu. Itto meets with Ichige Gyobu, a chamberlain of the Oyamada clan, who wants to hire him as an assassin. He wants Itto to kill Sugito, a chamberlain who is attempting to gain control of the Oyamada clan by assassinating the current lord. Itto reaches the village where Sugito waits to ambush the Oyamada daimyo. Itto is confronted by some of Sugito’s ronin. He does not resist them as they take his sword, beat him and force him to pleasure Osen, a prostitute. Ready to leave to perform their duties for Sugito, the ronin plan to kill all the travellers in the village, but Itto intervenes, using weapons cleverly concealed in the baby cart in which he pushes Daigoro around. Kanbei, the leader of the ronin, realises who Itto is, but it’s too late. Itto kills Kanbei, Sugito and all their men, before quietly leaving the village. Osen attempts to follow him, but Itto threatens to cut the bridge she stands on, and she lets him go on his way.

There is something undeniably cool about an assassin pushing his child around in a deadly baby cart. Welcome to the wonderfully overblown world of
Lone Wolf and Cub
, where the action is fast, graphic and violent.

The first film in the popular
Lone Wolf and Cub
series,
Sword of 
Vengeance
, is a good beginning, but doesn’t reach the giddy heights of
Baby Cart on the River Styx
, the second and best film in the series.
Sword of Vengeance
is primarily concerned with how Itto and Daigoro came to be the wandering assassins known as Lone Wolf and Cub, and as such is more concerned with the backstory than the simple and violent tales the series excels in.

A co-production between Toho and Shintaro ‘Zatoichi’ Katsu’s production company,
Sword of Vengeance
stars Katsu’s brother, Tomisaburo Wakayama, as Ogami Itto, a role in which he excels. Like the Zatoichi films, the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series derives much of its appeal from its solid central character and one actor’s unforgettable portrayal of him. Wakayama’s Itto is a stern, inexpressive man, whose features rarely change. He’s unemotional, having chosen a path of death and vengeance which he sticks to with the same inexpressive stoicism he uses to follow the code of bushido. It is Wakayama’s inexpressiveness that makes him so memorable; his cold, emotionless stare through narrowed eyes drills through the toughest of opponents, and never fails to impress, no matter how many times you watch the film. There is one scene which is a classic example of Wakayama’s Itto: the scene in which Itto places his sword and a colourful ball on the floor and tells Daigoro, his infant son, to choose his destiny by crawling towards one; the sword means he embarks on the assassin’s life with his father, the ball means he joins his dead mother. Wakayama plays this scene with such conviction that you really believe Itto has no qualms about killing his child, as he wishes to spare his son the harsh life of vengeance he is about to undertake. When Itto occasionally does show emotion, such as the slight hint of amusement he gives when he defeats Gyubo’s men, it’s a mere glimmer through Wakayama’s stone-like features. Young Akihiro Tomikawa also offers an assured performance as Daigoro, Itto’s little son, but is used to much greater effect in the next film,
Baby Cart
on the River Styx
.

Interestingly,
Sword of Vengeance
is directed by Kenji Misumi, who helmed the first Zatoichi film, there at the beginning of two of samurai films’ most enduring characters. Misumi is true to the popular manga which inspired the
Lone Wolf and Cub
films, carefully creating a series of beautifully composed shots. The image of water coursing over Itto’s sword as it is cleaned in preparation for an execution and the bloodied fingers of Azami touching Daigoro’s cheek as she dies are just two examples of the violent yet graceful shots that Misumi offers his audience.

Of course, the cornerstone of the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series is flamboyant manga-styled battle scenes, and
Sword of Vengeance
well and truly delivers. Wakayama proves to be just as competent as his brother at hacking his way through hordes of enemies, and the scenes in which he does are highly entertaining. The gory effects, such as frequent blood sprays and severed limbs, make them gloriously grotesque. Particularly good is the final battle in which Itto takes on Kanbei and his ronin. Misumi builds a great sense of anticipation, and when the battle occurs it’s full of gory surprises.

Not as good as its sequel,
Sword of Vengeance
is nevertheless a worthy film. If you intend to watch the entire
Lone Wolf and Cub
series then this is the place to start.

Ogami Itto’s deadly enemies from the previous film, the Yagyu clan, are still after him. This time utilising two skilled teams of shinobi (ninja) from their ranks, one all male, the other all female, the Yagyu hope to eliminate Itto once and for all. Itto has continued on the path of the assassin that he chose in the first film, and still takes his little son Daigoro with him everywhere. This time, Itto accepts a contract to kill a dye-maker who threatens to ruin a lucrative monopoly held by a small clan. His target is protected by the three Hidari brothers, the highly skilled, official escorts of the Shogunate. Itto nearly fails in his mission, and is almost killed by the shinobi. Daigoro nurses him back to health but is then captured by the surviving shinobi, and is almost drowned before Itto rescues him. Following the Hidari brothers onto a boat, Itto and Daigoro must escape from a fire lit by thugs trying to kill the Hidari, and survive the cold night by sharing body warmth with Sayaka, the only survivor of the female shinobi. Sayaka finds it increasingly hard to harm Itto, mainly because of Daigoro. Catching up with the Hidari brothers, Itto kills them in a bloody battle and completes his mission by killing the dye-maker. Sayaka confronts him one last time, but cannot bring herself to fight him.

Baby Cart on the River Styx
is considered by many to be the best of the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series, and for good reason. With the backstory told in
Sword of Vengeance
(1972), this film is free to tell its bloody tale. Itto and Daigoro must contend with two teams of deadly shinobi (ninja), one male, one female, and the highly skilled Hidari brothers, otherwise known as the Masters of Death.

The simple plot is one of the film’s best assets. Presenting a series of causes and effects, the plot never feels as if it’s crudely assembled around the violence, which is sometimes the case with
zankoku
eiga (cruel films). The characters all have sufficient motivation to carry out their violent acts. The Yagyu clan, for example, feel it is vital to eliminate Ogami because he’s humiliated them; this is expressed simply through their anger as they discuss events. The Hidari brothers, for their part, are charged to protect by the Shogun, a duty they take very seriously.

Like the other
Lone Wolf and Cub
films, the most obvious feature of
Baby Cart on the River Styx
is its graphic violence. This film is not for the squeamish. Buckets of blood, along with a multitude of body parts, are flung all over the screen. But with its manga origins, it is only natural that the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series should inherit this gory, heightened violence. Director Kenji Misumi uses quick cuts, never lingering too long on any individual violent act, creating rapid montages of bloody combat which have an incredibly appealing visceral nature. During the battle scenes a variety of exotic weapons are on display, not least the baby cart itself, which conceals Ogami’s considerable arsenal. The choreography creates smooth-flowing exchanges; the scene in which Itto dispatches most of the male shinobi is one such example; he reacts quickly to the attacks of his multiple opponents, moving rapidly from one to the next, fighting them on different levels (from above, below, and so on).

As much attention is paid to characterisation as action. Though low on dialogue, the film’s central characters are cleverly designed, and prove to be intriguing in their own right. This is assisted greatly by performances from a talented cast. Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) continues to be an interesting protagonist. His face seems permanently frozen, a sign of the horrors he has faced. Largely unexpressive, he’s able to convey a great deal with a simple glance or slight movement of his brows. This is a far cry from the highly expressive heroes that usually feature in samurai films, portrayed by actors such as Toshiro Mifune, Shintaro Katsu and Tatsuya Nakadai.

The villains in this film, Sayaka and her female shinobi in particular, are wonderfully exaggerated, presenting comic-book evil at its best, a pleasing contrast with Itto’s constant stern expression.

Special mention must be made of Akihiro Tomikawa, the child actor who plays Daigoro, Itto’s little son. Only five or six years old, he gives an amazing performance, and matches his father’s cold stare. Yet he also retains childlike qualities, which makes for an interesting juxtaposition; in one scene he helps his father deal with some shinobi, then in the next he points and laughs at a scarecrow. The scenes in which Daigoro helps nurse his father back to health are touching, and contrast well with the visceral violence that has just taken place.

If you only see one film from the
Lone Wolf and Cub
series, make sure it’s
Baby Cart on the River Styx
. This film combines all the best elements of the series, including gory fight scenes, entertaining scripting and skilled performances from Wakayama and Tomikawa.

Itto Ogami and his son Daigoro continue to travel the path of the assassin. They encounter Ometsu, a young girl who has been sold to the yakuza as a sex slave and is trying to escape. Itto refuses to hand her over to Torizo, a tough female yakuza boss, when he sees the girl carries a memorial tablet, which reminds him of the tablet which ruined his own life. Eventually Itto agrees to undergo the torturous process that Ometsu must complete to be free of the yakuza, in her place. Surviving the tortures, although badly beaten, Itto then accepts an assignment from Torizo’s father, Miura, who is in fact a ronin. Miura wants Itto to kill Genba, the man who betrayed his clan, causing it to be dissolved. Itto agrees and sets off to complete this mission. Genba also attempts to hire Itto to kill his superior, who he fears is plotting against him, but Itto refuses. He kills Genba’s two most skilled samurai. Genba raises a small army to hunt the assassin. Itto confronts the army, and through a combination of heavy firepower, concealed in the baby cart, and his great skill, defeats them, killing Genba himself. A ronin named Kanbei then steps forward to challenge Itto, having been hired by Genba. Itto defeats him, and Kanbei recounts his tale, where he was shunned by his clan for leaving his lord’s side to protect him. Itto applauds his actions and acts as his second as he commits seppuku. Torizo, who has watched the entire battle, tries to follow Itto, but is restrained by her men, who fear for her safety.