Marusa no onna

The plot of A Taxing Woman is interesting/enthralling, regardless of the production date or language of the film. Watching tax evasion cases unfold is surprisingly interesting, presented in a manner that shows the more human side of government organizations. (OK, if not the 'human side', at least you get to see what it's like on the inside.) From a cultural perspective, a 1980s Tokyo is also interesting, with shots of the cityscape, pachinko parlors, love hotels, etc.

One last comment: There is nudity in this film, but It adds to the story of the film, justifying why some of the characters do what they do.

Japanese satirist Juzo Itami tackles yet another popular obsession in this often bitter comedy sure to strike a chord with any long-suffering taxpayer. The film lacks the playful free-form structure of his earlier 'Tampopo', but compensates with more of the same inflated, deadpan humor, diluted here by a cruel (but not incompatible) streak of anger no doubt reflecting the director's own relationship with the Japanese IRS. Itami's heroine is a plucky, incorruptible Internal Revenue agent (played by his own off-screen wife) involved in a high-tech, fast-paced game of cat-and-mouse with a ruthless, lecherous businessman trying to protect his illicit income by any means possible. Her single-minded pursuit of the Almighty Yen in the service of her government is no less compulsive than the creative tax-dodges of her money-hungry target, and the exaggerated methods of detection and evasion give the film an irresistible comic energy. The tempo doesn't really take off until the second hour, when the entire team of tax agents joins the chase, and their obsessive devotion to duty carries the film beyond the level of absurdity, transforming a colorless world of glorified accountants into an exciting, romantic adventure and showing just how shark-like the lure of money can be, on both sides of the law.

She's rather memorable, this taxing woman. She has a face like a China doll all grown up with freckles around her eyes and a mat of thick dark hair on her head as though cut with the aid of a vegetable bowl. She is Nobuko Miyamoto, wife of the late and lamented director Juzo Itami, and a comedic star worthy of 'Saturday Night Live' in its better days. She plays Ryoke Hakura, tireless tax inspector hot on the trail of shady tax dodger Hideki Gondo, played with rakish self-indulgence by Tsutomi Yamazaki. Itami blends situation comedy with some soap opera angst (Japanese and American) to which he adds some ersatz action/adventure shtick (the chase scene near the end with Hakura legging it after Gondo's teenage son, comes to mind) seasoned with a touch of the traditional theater and a little zesty porn, well mixed.

The result is interesting and a little jarring.

I was most affected by the atmosphere of this strange and original comedy. I found myself looking at the backdrops and the sets and into the faces of all those very neat Japanese bureaucrats as I followed Ryoko Hakura's tireless pursuit of the missing yen. All that paper work and all those numbers! Interesting were the attitudes and presumptions of the characters in terms of sexuality and social status. We can see that in the modern Japan a woman must navigate her way carefully through the sea of men, while a man must achieve financial success to command respect. And yet there lingers still the flavor and the swagger of the samurai as seen in the scene where Gondo cuts his finger to write a bank account number in blood.

Aside from getting a little soapy at the end, this is fine flick, sly and amusing.

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Overall I really enjoyed this film, though it's no "Tampopo". This is a well-crafted flick from Itami, and I'm certainly glad I watched it, though if you are uninitiated with Itami's work I wouldn't start here. This is a fun, twisting dramedy with a few true laugh out loud moments; come for the charm, stay for the feel good story.

Who would think a two-hour film (and subtitled for non-Japanese speaking viewers) about tax collectors could be interesting? This was, although nothing extraordinary.....just pretty entertaining with an interesting lead character and strange soundtrack.

I found Nobuko Miyamoro fascinating as the tax collector with all the freckles and the will to get the job done, no matter what it takes. It was interesting to discover how much the Japanese were taxed (at least when this movie was made) and what lengths they will go to cheat on their taxes!

The hot-tempered gangster had some funny lines, some naked breasts were seen here several times to keep things spiced up for the male audience. Generally, this was fun to watch. The constant jazz-type beat on the main song was cool for quite a while but got tiresome toward the end.