Nippon jokyô-den: Gekitô Himeyuri-misaki

I had forgotten what this movie was about so when I sat and watched it I expected a drama. I quickly found out I was very wrong. Main players in this movie is a tough local girl, an escaped yakuza boss, the local yakuza, and a poor village.

The girl is not a little weak girl like women are often in these gangster movies. She is involved in fighting several times in the movie.

I found the story engaging. Topics this movie touch is: The american occupation of Okinawa, relationship between Okinawa and mainland Japan, and the hard impact the war had on the civilians on Okinawa. But main part of the story is the conflict with the bad yakuza.

I found the acting good and the fighting scenes were also good.

Would I recommend this movie? If you can live with older movies and like the Japanese gangster movies then go for it by all means. I personally found it refreshing and above average. Actually I enjoyed it a lot :-)

Aka "Trials of an Okinawa Village". A very entertaining action drama. Briefly, the story tells of a tough no-nonsense trucker boss a hardened self reliant woman, having survived the war she now runs the trucking company established by her parents, both victims of the WW2 island battle. Following an offer to help the poor local villagers, trouble breaks out, Lady Boss has angered the local yakuza gang with her stubborn upright stance... Director Shigehiro Ozawa throws everything into this absorbing epic saga. With shifting tones he composes a rollercoaster of emotions, light moments give way to dark, the touching & moving human story suddenly erupts with cruel & bloody, encounters, in the background a sharp denunciation of the occupation force past & present, A fabulous cast of seasoned veterans portray great depth of character in their varied roles, and obviously the director has placed much focus on his talented and lovely leading lady Sumiko Fuji. Familiar with her traditional looks in so many period dramas Red peony et, here she lets her hair down and wears a trucker outfit with natural alluring style.

The on location production uses footage from Tadashi Imai's exceptional Himeyuri no Tô (1953). Complimenting the personal tale with intimate detail the seamless insertion looks as if it was meant to be, the footage is a valuable & evocative historical reference a background to the harrowing drama which shaped the destiny of Okinawa ... Highly Recommended..