Hibotan bakuto: Oinochi itadaki masu

This film essentially begins with the Yakuza gambler known as "Oryu-the Red Peony" (Sumiko Fuji) visiting the small village of a new acquaintance she had met previously. Once she gets there she is surprised to find the village in chaos with some of the inhabitants fighting against members of the Japanese army in an apparent protest of a new lead refinery which is polluting the water that these farmers rely so heavily upon. Not long afterward her gracious host, "Kikutaro Yuki" (Koji Tsurata) is severly beaten by the local military commander "Colonel Hatanaka" (Komatsu Hosei) and it's then that she discovers the interwoven corruption between the owners of the refinery, the military and a local Yakuza boss named "Jinpachi Tomita" (Seizaburo Kawazu) who have absolutely no interest in the health or welfare of the neighboring villagers. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was neither the best nor the worst film in the Red Peony Gambler series as it suffered from some rather egregious overacting and an all too familiar plot. To be fair, however, it should be noted that this is the seventh film in a series which only began 3 years earlier and it is probably fair to say that this extremely fast pace probably stifled the creative impulses of all of those concerned. But even so, this was certainly not a bad film by any means and I have rated it accordingly.

In what is hands down the worst movie of the entire series, even worst than the watchable but nothing else fourth movie. The positives of this 7th installment of the franchise are few and far between, namely the talent of the director who could indeed do a pretty good job in terms of camerawork, the always pleasing and beautiful persona of Junko Fuji and the fact that there's still some gambling involved, meaning the series title is respected more than in the 4th movie. For the rest, the story is simply a badly done rehash of the 4th and 5th (or 6th, I personally watched it as the 6th in the saga) movies with the pretense of doing a bashing of nationalist militarism and it's not particularly convincing (crops are more useful for military campaigns than steel is, apparently...no nationalist militarism involved, I guess?), the fights are not as well coreographed as the previous movies (the atrocious ending fight with a tired beyond belief Junko Fuji stealing the show in that regards) and for whatever reason the titular character passes most of her time killing or fighting people without any resonance whatsoever. As the cherry on the cake, the more grounded feeling of all the previous movies (fourth included) is thrown away for comic-book style storytelling that I, a comic book lover, not only finds not well suited for this type of movies but it poses serious questions on the logic of previous movies, in particular all the thing about Oryu being able so easily to get in touch with THE FRIGGING SECRETARY OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE like it's nothing. It retroactively makes all the stuff concerning the police helding one of the two lovers against his will in the third movie and the efforts of the Oryu businesswoman in the fourth one completely pointless, since she could get so easily in touch with the higher rankings in the government thanks to the connection she has with her Yakuza brother-in-law (why is this incredibly annoying and unfunny guy still here anyway?). Really, this movie reeks of jumping the shark from a mile, and my expectations for the last movie in the saga, as of now, are not particularly high. Really disappointing considering the 6th movie I watched was leaps and bounds the best of the entire series.

The seventh Red Peony Gambler film, and one of the best in the series, in which Oryu (she's the Red Peony) once again finds herself entangled with an oppressed group of people. This time a corrupted army officer, with the help of some high ranking villagers under his spell, is doing damage to a simple hardworking peasant community.

Right from the beginning she has to step into action, to save the life of a lowly but apparently honest gambler, who has been tricked into being a cheater: Oryu has found a new friend for life. Later on she meets mr Yuki, a gentle soul with sad eyes, who has foresworn the yakuza life-style as a traveling gambler (like Oryu herself) and now raises a son and leads the community. However, mr Yuki's peaceful attempt at negotiations with the military, to prevent further damage to the environment and harvesting grounds of the villagers only aggravates the situation, which soon spirals out of control. So in time, the Red Peony has to save the day.

This is a swift-paced and excellently produced film, the action here is among the most spectacular (and bloody) of the entire series. There are also some obvious comedic moments, especially the reunion with her "sworn brother" (they go back a couple of movies). If you've seen all the entries up to this point then you might find some similarities to previous films, somewhat like retreading old ground. There's also a slightly new twist on the almost essential "you've been cheating Red Peony!" gambling scene but that's always a lot of fun. As are the "official introductory" scenes, where she announces herself and reason for coming: I love the way she speaks so stentorian and yet gracefully in those. There are some beautiful, almost poetic shots to be admired and of course Fuji Junko is often stunning, here especially when she takes out her red hairpin and throws herself and caution to the wind. Ahem.

Easily appreciated as a standalone film and definitely recommended if you're at all interested in this series, about a beautiful, almost Audrey Hepburn-like, yakuza woman with a strong wielding hand, a gentle heart and a sad, loving, longing gaze.