Japanese Cinema Thread

[imperiouskitten]

Inn of Evil aka Inochi Bô Ni Furô (1971)

Here's a jidaigeki with little of the samurai stuff! You could call it a yakuza film, but it's more of refreshing, original character drama involving small-time criminals.

Sword of Doom star Tatsuya Nakadai is the hippest, baddest-ass of a gang of misfits who hang out at the Easy Inn. He is specifically defined as bisexual in some playful ribbing between thugs at the film's opening btw. Though a public establishment, people who wander in to the Easy Inn, which is isolated on a small isle in Edo, are harassed to leave. The Inn's a front for icy criminal smugglers with a police contact inside the Shogunate to protect them. But their man has profited well from the arrangement, and finds himself transferred up.

One day a young man wanders in and drinks, and unable to pay his bill is taken prisoner by the gang and dunked on day after day. In the end tho, his tale moves the crew, and they take up a very dangerous job to save him, even without their police protection. BUt there's a new, vicious samurai cop on the beat . . .

Really loved this heartwarming tale of criminals. It was nice to watch a crime movie that isn't soaked in cynicism. Their place is somewhere for misfits to gather and find their way in the world. The boss is very loveable. It was very well written. Impossible not to like the brutal queer gangster sword wizard who's really a softie. The film struck me as well shot, too, with some pretty dazzling action scenes involving darkness and lots of lanterns. Hard to put a finger on it but this was one of our favorites despite its humble scope and use of a limited number of sets.