Cochons et Cuirassés

Typical high school relationship turmoil pales in comparison to this. A young couple are looking for a more prosperous life in early 60s Japan, however, the young man thinks that running with a gang will help him clear some financial debts quick along with selling swine on the black market in the grittier parts of Japan. His girlfriend wants him out of that stupid gang while her parents are far from model parents as they try to steer her into prostitution. The story follows Kinta as he wrestles with becoming a man and trying to find a way out of the gang world as his girlfriend would be happy if he had a traditional factory job; something he bristles at. Will they be able to detach themselves from bad influences or will they collapse under the pressures? This film had really nice shot framing and a few really innovative transitions, especially for the era. The acting was solid and the drama slowly increased built upon well-crafted characters. One key scene has similarities to Scarface but swap cocaine with pigs. Ha Ha.

Before I knew anything else about him, the first of Imamura Shohei's films I saw was 1989's 'Black rain,' a dour, tragic drama that lingers long after we finish watching. I think that first exposure spoiled me, because even if only subconsciously I keep expecting the man's other works to meet that same level of excellence. It's hardly that something like 'Pigs and battleships' is bad - far from it; this is solidly made, and worthwhile on its own merits. But even as the story grows more absorbing in the back end this doesn't make a particularly strong or lasting impression, and I don't expect I'll think on it hereafter. No, not every picture needs to be a revelation, but especially if some odds and ends bear discrete subjective faults, is it enough for a title to be broadly enjoyable?

Scribe Yamanouchi Hisashi penned a harsh but compelling story, with dark or wryly comedic elements, of a loose group of yakuza struggling with infighting, disloyalty, and finances; a low-ranking gangster, the troubled relationship with his girlfriend, her family, and the pig farm in which all of them have some interest. Imamura illustrates a keen eye as director, and likewise cinematographer Himeda Shinsaku. The cast give vibrant performances, and where stunts and effects are employed they're fantastic. The production design and art direction are as vivid and fetching as the filming locations, and all this comes together somewhat brilliantly in the last stretch as everyone's weak hopes for a better life, or at least to get ahead, are shredded. Mayuzumi Toshiro's original music is a fine complement all the while, and far more than not the sum total is engaging and engrossing as the plot progresses.

The problem I have is that the feature gets messy in the details, and all the less sure-footed facets feed into one another. Through both Imamura's direction and Tanji Mutsuo's editing the pacing tends to feel rushed and harried, too often disallowing some beats and ideas from carrying the full impact that they should. This amplifies, and is reinforced by, the sloppiness with which Yamanouchi's story is brought to bear in his screenplay. Taken each by themselves the characterizations are firm, but this isn't so good about elucidating who each of them are, let alone who they are to each other, or how it is that everyone seems to know each other. The ideas are there for the scene writing, but few are those moments that don't feel unfocused or inchoate even on paper. Or maybe I should be pinning more responsibility on Imamura after all; everything looks good, superficially, but the substance underpinning the sights and sounds to greet us gets mired in an execution that sometimes comes across as disjointed, overbearing or both.

Please understand, I do like 'Pigs and battleships.' I wonder if I'm not being too unkind in my assessment. But for as commendable as the production is at large, and the underlying narrative, there's nothing here that's specifically special or memorable, and other movies have played in a similar space. It's worthwhile on its own merits, but unless one has a special impetus to watch, I don't think it's so likely that this is going to stand out. Maybe it doesn't need to; maybe it's enough as it is. Why, I'll go so far as to say that maybe there's something about my viewing experience that was less than ideal, and if I were to try again I'd like it more than I do. I just know that its best aspects must be weighed against those that are more flawed or at least less impressive, and while I'm glad I took the time to watch, for my part I'll probably forget most everything about it in a matter of time. Do check out 'Pigs and battleships,' and have a good time with it as I did; just as much to the point, though, may you get more out of it than I did.

It's really interesting to see one of the early works of Imamura. This film includes epitomes of the overall style of the great director: depiction of the lower, outlaw parts of Japanese society; criticizing both the authority and the society for their conformism with prevailing conditions; use of animals(namely pigs for this film) as an allegory for individuals (here it should be underlined that this object of allegory beats up its master!); and characterizing women as determined individuals who have power within the society, and who are more conscious than men. In order to trace the sources of the stylized director who made brilliant films like Kuroi Ame, Narayama bushiko, and Unagi, this film is a must see.

There are some interesting faces in this flick. The head of gang Tetsuro Tanba, who thinks he is dying hits it big some years later as the Japanese male lead opposite Sean Connery in "You Only Live Twice" (1967). An old guy who defends the honor of the female lead ends up playing Admiral Nagumo in "Tora, Tora, Tora" (1970).

Beyond those interesting connections, this flick is fairly complex and has a bit of a fatalistic theme. Some the main characters have to break out of their environment to change their destiny. Only one is able to do that. There are a few comedic moments. It is worth the time to see the plot. :-)

Teen hoodlum Kinta is excited to be given the plum job of supervising the pig pen at the local US base, for which he'll be responsible diverting the food scraps to the black market, and scoring a good income for his yakuza gang. His girlfriend Hiroku earnestly hopes he'll leave the yakuza and get an honest job, but neither is she a paragon of virtue - she is drawn into prostitution and petty thievery. The story mostly follows their troubled relationship, against a backdrop steeped in corruption, which results from the clash of US Forces occupation against the poverty and aspirations of the people of post-war Japan.

A scathing, even cynical critique. There is no tenderness at all here. Even the young lovers embracing is shown more as a desperate clinging than emotional attachment. And corruption is everywhere - there are no good guys. Confronting stuff, well-photographed, memorable as a vivid nightmare.