Irezumi

This film begins with an incredibly beautiful young woman by the name of "Otsuya" (Ayako Wakao) trying to convince a young man named "Shinsuke" (Akio Hasegawa) to quit his job working for her father so that the two of them can elope together and eventually get married. Although Shinsuke has grave concerns about leaving a good job and a boss who has been quite generous with him, he is easily seduced by Otsuya's charms and goes along with her in spite of it all. Having also stolen some money from her father, Otsuya and Shinsuke stay at an inn run by a man named "Kenji" (Fujio Suga) who is a business associate of the family. What neither of them know, however, is that Kenji has a hidden motive for allowing her stay to at the inn which soon comes to fruition when she is kidnapped and sold to a brothel in another city. But what Kenji doesn't quite fathom is that Otsuya is much more devious and resilient than anybody could ever conceive and that she is now determined to have her revenge on everybody involved with her abduction. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an extremely good film which was not only artistic in one sense but also had the advantage of featuring an incredibly talented actress like Ayako Wakao who dominated every scene she was in with her beauty and charm. And although there is quite a bit of sexual eroticism inherent within the plot the director (Yasuzo Masumura) uses a subtle technique which both stimulates the imagination and enhances the imagery. That being said, I thought that this was an excellent film and I have rated it accordingly.

Most impressive bloody drama of operatic proportions. Doubly wronged our heroine ends up a geisha with a tarantula tattoo upon her back. Apparently the first part of the Japanese word for tarantula means prostitute and so she feels she has no alternative but to remain in the profession into which she was forced. What she can do though is take revenge and hey does she take revenge. This is beautifully photographed action all the way and it gets plenty bloody, with a wonderfully over the top ending that makes you want to stand and applaud. How much this is a tale of an exploited woman and that of a woman overcoming adversity will be up to each viewer to decide. Gentle eroticism is a bonus and if this is not quite as crazy as the same director's Blind Beast it is just as audacious. Bold, bright and beautiful.

'Irezumi (1966)' focuses on a young woman who is sold to a geisha house and forcibly tattooed with a grotesque arachnid across her entire back. Deciding not to let her circumstances decide her fate, she opts to embrace the golden orb spider inked into her skin and fully embody its almost otherworldly man-eating nature. With the power of manipulative seduction, she aims to devour every man she can sink her teeth into as a form of revenge for her situation. Unwillingly along for the ride is her fiancée, who is manipulated into serving as his wife-to-be's weapon despite the fact that it tears him apart. In fact, he's pretty much a tool right from the start, as he crumbles to the desires of his lover and buckles under the pressure of her threats, but he only starts to see it once it's too late. The picture is a depiction of a downward spiral, a tragic series of events that escalate into senseless violence and can only end in a similar way. It's also an examination of power within gender dynamics, as its hero is able to use the misogyny of the world around her to her advantage and successfully pull the strings of every single man she encounters. The lead isn't concerned with being likable, she's concerned with getting her own back; this makes for a compelling protagonist whose amorality is only offset by the constant ethical crisis voiced by her meek partner. It's somewhat unconventional in this way, although similar films - like 'Onibaba (1964)' - also reject the standard female stereotype in favour of more complex fare, and it's ultimately quite feminist considering when it was released. It's pretty compelling for its duration, even if it does hit a bit of a lull during its midsection. There are several striking scenes, including a handful of surprisingly brutal moments, and the cinematography is gorgeous throughout. The lead performance is suitably transfixing, too. Overall, this is a really solid thriller with a strong central dynamic and a distinct atmosphere.

The first thing that stood out to me is how beautifully this movie is shot and has some amazing freeze frames that should be framed on a wall. Having the lead woman have so much control not only when she receives the spider tattoo, but also in her own relationship before it was a surprising thing to see in a movie from the 60s. There is an interesting mystery of how much the spider tattoo is influencing her or if a large part of her actions are a understanding result of her being kidnapped and sold. This movie could have easily gone down the exploitation route, but it clearly had more to say and took itself way more seriously. I am very thankful for that.

Wonderful film based on a novel by Juinichiro Tanizaki, directed by one of the bad boys of 60's Japanese cinema, Yasuzo Masumura and starred by a brilliant and beautiful Ayako Wakao, who plays Otsuya, a beautiful young woman from a middle-class merchant family who is abducted into geisha work, and who catches one day the eye of Seikichi, a tattoo master who marks her back with a huge, monstrous spider. From that moment on, Otsuya will take her revenge with every man who shared her bed..

A very perverse story of revenge full of elegant erotism, not showing graphic nude or sex scenes but showing highly suggestive shots (which are more than enough) and made in a very poetical way, I've always been a big fan of how Japanese filmmakers were able to mix entertainment with art.

The film is also a reflect of how obsessive and toxic relationships always lead to a tragic ending and is up to the spectator to decide if Ayako Wakao's character is a victim of circumstances or responsible of it or maybe the spider on her back is the cause of her misconduct and bad manners....

A PIECE OF ART