Dokufu Takahashi Oden

This period melodrama portrays the descent of a basically caring person into a heartless, money-obsessed killer. The plot-heavy narrative is held together by Kazuko Wakasugi's passionate commitment to putting emotional flesh on the title character's bones. She went on to play the even more tragic Iwa in 'Tokaido Yotsuya kaidan'.

Director Nakagawa keeps things moving at a brisk enough pace to gloss over the story's improbabilities. Continuing to experiment with his visuals, he includes an unusually large number of high-angle shots, suggesting the powerlessness of the main characters.

Although not one of the director's best films, 'Dokufu' is still an above-average entry in its genre.

This film begins with an attractive young woman named "Oden Takahashi" (Katsuko Wakasugi) running through the streets of Tokyo while being chased by the police. Although she manages to elude them by sneaking a ride on a passing rickshaw, she finds out a little later that the driver just happens to be her former husband who she left because of his alcoholism and gambling addiction. A little while later, it is revealed that her current husband suffers from tuberculosis and that Oden has resorted to shoplifting to support him. Not only that, but she also discovers that her young daughter by her first husband is being neglected, and so she subsequently decides to try to support her as well. Ironically, her incredible beauty soon attracts several men who seek to use her criminal activities against her for their own self-centered purposes which, combined with her own selfish agenda, has contributed to her current situation--and created even more problems for her. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a very interesting movie set during a fascinating time in Japanese history known as the Meiji Restoration which the director (Nobuo Nakagawa) used to great effect. I also appreciated his use of symbolism, which is seldom seen in motion pictures today. Likewise, having a lovely and talented actress like Katsuko Wakasugi certainly didn't hurt either. Be that as it may, I found this movie to be quite compelling, and I recommend it to those viewers interested in a film of this type.

It's the 1870s, and the chaos of the Meiji Restoration has turned everyone's life upside down. Katsuko Wakasugi has divorced her first husband, although she occasionally gives him money for their daughter. He spends it on booze. She is married to a samurai. He is ill. He accuses her of prostitution. She is married to another man, a Yakuza, for whom she gets young girls for a prostitution ring he runs. She also is having an affair with a young police officer. She hates this life, the violence, the crimes, the obsession these men all have with her. So she determines to go away with her daughter and live a decent life, far away where none of these men can find her.

Japanese cinema seems to have a split personality when it comes to women. In many of the films of the more revered directors, like Naruse and Mizoguchi, they are oppressed creatures, unwilling playthings for uncaring men. Then there are some directors, like Kurosawa, whose films portray them as demons. Of course, western movies have these extremes, but they are extremes. Only Ozu strikes a consistent balance among the best known Japanese auteurs. In this one, director Nobuo Nakagawa accepts the extremes, and shows how people create their own demons, out of desires for sheer survival and, when that is unavailable, revenge.

Takahashi Oden (1848 - January 31, 1879) the main character protagonist of this stunning film was a real life female Japanese murderess who earned notoriety for being the last woman in Japan to be put to death by beheading. The film however does not go there.

Overflowing with melodramatic emotion, a tragic tone permeates the tense B&W atmosphere. There is a fervid pace throughout beginning with a knockout opening scene which instantly highlights the creative film style of director Nobuo Nakagawa. Katsuko Wakasugi is outstanding as the troubled and conflicted femme-fatale who's life is becoming complex and morally unmanageable. Caught up in her personal intrigues and dramas an assortment of men, smitten by her beauty, ensnared by her manipulative passion, all touched by her genuine charm... Highly atmospheric exceptional Film Noir Japanese style.

Highly Recommended