Dix femmes en noir

Outside his home market, only a fraction of Ichikawa's movies are known. It comes as a surprise to find that some of them are so inept.

This one can be compared with MISTER PU, another attempt at an off beat comedy which doesn't play. TV Producer Funakoshi is in the habit of seducing any suitable woman he happens to run into. Ten of them get together and decide it's time he paid for loose morals with his life.

The director has some of the collaborators on his major works along and a team of regularly employed Japanese performers and their efforts are not totally wasted. The ghostly apparitions of the printer register, particularly before we know what causes them. However despite atmosphere generated by the contrasty black and white images, the whole thing is presented mechanically.

Most interesting element is a jokey vision of 1950s TV production.

Funakoshi Eiji is Mr. Kaze. Nice man, except that he happens to have nine mistresses. What makes things weirder is that the women are all aware of each other, and have started to get together. Now they are planning to murder the man. Easier said than done though, because one of the women is still in love with Kaze, and wants him (alive) for herself. Many plot-twists occur in a wonderful dark comedy narrative.

The cast of A-list actresses is wonderful, but I got the biggest laughs from Funakoshi's Mr. Kaze. My favorite scene was midway through, when he finds out about the women's shared plan to kill him. He does not get afraid, but instead gets confused, and seems genuinely offended by the nastiness of the idea. The comedy's play with gender roles is fun, and has progressive messages hidden in there. The concept is unique and works, though the tone shifts in a couple of places. Another fun element is, that by profession, Mr. Kaze is a television producer. Television, in 1961, was killing the market for movies, so in this Ichikawa film we can see "subtle" criticism of the medium.

While not one of the master's great works, Ten Dark Women is well worth watching.

The B&W cinematography is creepy and strikes exactly the right tone. Awkward camera angles are suitably unsettling. The women, especially the main actresses, are lit to near-perfection, and they look great.

The groovy bass-dominated background music, in a classic 60s emblematic style, is simply superb. Where can I find this soundtrack ? Although the premise is outrageous, the story is easily involving enough to suspend disbelief. The dark mood is established from the first shot and never lets go. That said, the final third of TDW tends to the ridiculous and does run out of puff.

One can't help but envy Ichikawa. He got together a fine selection of Japan's loveliest stars, and coaxed from them disturbing and even frightening performances of women so scorned that they manage to plot murderous revenge, despite continuous in-fighting, justifiable mistrust and changing motives.

Ignore the naysayers. For its few faults, TDW is great offbeat entertainment.