La voiture d'essai noire

Solid, noirish gangster film without regular gangsters. This is industrial espionage within the motor industry in Japan and as someone mentions during one heated exchange, they are acting more like the yakuza. Rough and tough with sex thrown into the mix, this is a most jaundiced view of Japanese business practices and moreover some part of the society at large. Director Yasuzo Masumura made some sixty films including the immaculate Irezumi (1966) and the delirious Blind Beast (1968). He has a great visual awareness and a confidence that make his films instantly recognisable as here with stark black and whites framed at angles, from behind someone's back, through chairs, amidst a children's playground or from the floor of a hostess bar. This thriller begins at a measured pace and even appears as if it might be a bit dull with all the talk of motor car manufacture but Masumura soon has us in his grip and trying to work out of all the many bad men who is more bad than the other.

This film begins with the prototype of a sportscar developed by the Tiger Motor Corporation failing to make a high-speed turn and subsequently crashing into a fiery wreck. To further add to the company's misfortune, their main rival, the Yamato Motor Corporation, has sent spies to the test site and they have recorded everything. Not long afterward, information is received that Yamato Motors is also developing a new sportscar and it has the same identical features of the one being built by the Tiger Corporation. Needless to say, this shocks the senior members of Tiger Motors who quickly come to the conclusion that there is a well-placed spy within the top levels of their company and, in response, a senior executive by the name of "Toru Onoda" (Hideo Takamatsu) is tasked with uncovering his identity. Not only that, but in order to stay competitive with their main rival, Onoda turns to one of his lieutenants named "Yutaka Asahina" (Jiro Tamiya) to use whatever means are necessary to cultivate their own sources of information within Yamato Motors as well. Yet, even though Asahina is extremely loyal to the Tiger Motor Corporation, what he doesn't realize is the extent to which Onoda is prepared to go to achieve his corporate agenda. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film turned out to be surprisingly good in that it showcased a man's struggle to somehow maintain his loyalty to the company while at the same time remaining true to his conscience. This becomes especially evident with the manner in which he pressures his fiancé, "Matsuko Usami" (Junko Kano) to do things against her better judgement. Be that as it may, although it's clearly dated and doesn't contain as much suspense as I would have liked, it's still an entertaining film and I recommend it for viewers looking for a good corporate espionage movie.

Black Test Car is the first in a series of eleven Japanese thrillers throughout the sixties that are portraying the dark sides of society. This particular movie revolves around two car manufacturers, one being the veterans with excellent reputation and the other one being relatively young but innovative. The rookie manufacturer is planning on creating a first sports car for the Japanese market. The veterans however have a spy in the opponent's company and manage to steal their construction plans. They even go further by faking an accident of the new car of their opponents upon release to harm their reputation. The rookies however don't plan on giving up. They prepare a honey trap to find out the initial price of their opponent's sports car. Furthermore, they want to prove that the veterans have stolen their construction plans. The biggest task however remains to unmask the traitor in their own ranks. In order to be victorious in this tense power battle, industrial spies from both sides have to go beyond the rules.

This tense thriller in black and white has aged very well and convinces on multiple levels. The story line is realistic to a point that it could still happen very similarly in reality nowadays. The plot nevertheless comes around with multiple stunning twists and turns that will keep viewers on the edges of their seats until the very end. The different characters played by skilled actresses and actors are truly intriguing. It's particularly interesting to follow how their actions, behaviours and philosophies are going to change throughout the story. The movie is never moralizing in that regard but viewers will automatically empathize with some characters while despising or perhaps even pitying others. The film has fast pace from start to finish and throws in some drama in form of a romantic relationship menaced by the heated conflict between the two manufacturers and even some sex appeal in form of flirts in a shady bar and a hotel room.

This overlooked thriller has recently been released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video along with its successor in the series titled The Black Report which is also known as Black Statement Book. Both films convince with very good image and sound quality and are offered in a beautiful case with excellent artwork and booklet. Anyone who likes Japanese cinema in general and thrillers with clever plots in particular should purchase this great package.