Hibotan bakuto: Hanafuda shôbu

Not only in my opinion, but also in Paul Schrader's, this is the ultimative in Japanese Yakuza movies. All the figures are absolutely brilliantly portrayed, with the wonderful FUJI Yunko in an atypical role which nevertheless made her famous. It's about a professional female gambler who is confronted with a gang war, and who tries to save the love of young couple. Meanwhile, she brings seeing back to a young girl, but cannot help her after that... (This plays a big role in the sequel, HIBOTAN BAKUTO - ORYU SANJO). Seldom had a Gangster movie shown so much humanism, and seldom the japanese Widescreen-Processing, which is even larger than your average Cinemascope, was used more effectively. Kato brings in his stylish mixture of genre film and expressionist pictures not seen since THE BAD SLEEP WELL, and never seen in a colour production before. The only disturbing fact is the director's affection for inhumane rape sequences, but they are here very short. Great stuff for all fans of japanese movies.

This film essentially begins with the Yakuza gambler "Ryuko Yano" (Sumiko Fuji)--who is also known as "Oryu-The Red Peony"-walking on a road and noticing a young blind girl about to be hit by an oncoming train. Fortunately, she saves the child just in time and hands her off to her mother who is very grateful. The scene then shifts to Oryu presenting herself to a representative of a Yakuza boss only to be labeled as a cheat by some of the men there. However, since her presentation was in complete accordance with the Yakuza code she is allowed to speak directly to the boss of the Nishinomaru clan by the name of "Teijiro Sugiyama" (Kanjuro Arashi) and is accepted as a guest. It is then revealed that somebody else has been using her name for their own purposes and she is granted permission to resolve the matter as she wishes. It's also during this time that a romantic affair between two rival clans comes into play for which she is also drawn into. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this third film in the series wasn't nearly as good as its two predecessors due in large part to the rather boring nature of the predicaments Oryu was forced to resolve along with the ending which could have also used some improvement. That being said, while this was not a bad film by any means it lacked the intensity of the previous two films and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

There's nothing guilty about this pleasure, the best in the Red Peony series and an evocative glimpse into Meji-period Japan. With its genre feel well established, this comes off feeling more like a classic western than a standard yakuza flick. Oryu, a wandering gambler known for her skill and beauty, must deal with corrupt bosses, reform a cheater for the sake of her blind daughter, and try to save a university student from certain doom after the boy falls prey to a cheat.

Director Tai Kato, a minor master of genre films, delivers a narrative with texture and emotional impact. The dedicated viewer will notice a few people who played some of the other Red Peony films (all of whom were killed off), but the cast is solid and convincing.