Boulevard des chattes sauvages

With the most salacious title of the series and a director (Yasuharu Hasebe) who would go on to make some of the more notorious 'violent pink' movies of the '70s, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter sounds like it should be a thoroughly tasteless sleaze-fest, but in reality proves just as mediocre as the previous two entries (Delinquent Girl Boss and Wild Jumbo), being another unexceptional gang drama with attractive actresses acting tough unconvincingly.

The beautiful Meiko Kaji returns, this time as Mako, leader of the Alleycats, an all-girl gang who clash with male gang The Eagles, whose leader, Baron (Tatsuya Fuji), has a hatred of African-Japanese people. When one such mixed race man falls for Alleycat Mari (Mari Koiso), Baron and his men react with violence, but are seen off by young stranger Kazuma (Rikiya Yasuoka), who has arrived in town looking for his sister Megumi. Mako takes a fancy to Kazuma, who is also mixed race, which upsets Baron even further, since he also has the hots for the top Alleycat (although impotency prevents him from proving his manliness). Rising tensions lead to punch-ups and random acts of violence, culminating in a shoot-out at a U.S. airbase.

There are a few moments in Sex Hunter that definitely offered Hasebe the opportunity to cut loose, but the director plays it safe this early in his career, delivering very little of the shocking sexual violence that typifies his more infamous work: those looking for jaw-dropping scenes of deviancy are advised to move on... there's nothing much to see here. The majority of the film consists of much posturing from both sides, some musical interludes (including a couple of numbers by mixed-race girl group Golden Half), mild drug-taking, and lots of driving around Tokyo in jeeps. The racially charged plot adds a modicum of interest, but this third Stray Cat Rock movie - regarded by many as the best in the series (which doesn't say much for the others) - still left me wanting.

You never really know what to expected with these early 70's Japanese Pinky Violence/Exploitation movies, but the absolute last thing I ever expected to find in a film lusciously entitled "Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter" was a socially relevant and thought-provoking allegory on topics such as racism, female liberation and brotherhood. There are a handful of "Stray Cat Rock" movies, but apparently "Sex Hunter" is the most widely available one and also the most superior one in the cycle. I'm certainly tempted to believe that, because what I saw was a compelling film from start to finish; - albeit with a exemplary crowd-pleasing elements like sexy eloquent girls, grotesque moments at comedy and kitschy musical interludes. Most bizarre, however, is the surprisingly low amount of explicit violence and gratuitous nudity. The main emphasis here lies on plausible story and the increasing tension between the rivaling gangs/sexes. The unearthly beautiful Meiko Kaji (later she became Japan's most successful exploitation actress thanks to "Lady Snowblood" and the "Female Prisoner: Scorpion" series) stars as Mako, the leading lady of an all-girls gang known as the Alley Cats. The girls are tough and independent, but they nevertheless still stand in the shadow of "The Eagles". They are a male gang, led by sadistic Baron and driving around the city in military jeeps. The Eagles are a bunch of racists, particularly against the half-bloods (the offspring of Japanese women and American WWII soldiers) who're allegedly stealing their women. The hard-boiled Mako is also falling in love with a half-blood, named Kazuma, but he actually came to town to look for his long lost baby sister. "Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter" turned out to be much more compelling, suspenseful and memorable than we (my fellow cinema mate and I) dared to anticipate. I love it when that happens! Director Yasuharu Hasebe may perhaps be most (in)famous for his downright deviant exploitation-porn movies, like "Assault! Jack the Ripper" and "Rape!", but this undoubtedly must be his best movie. Besides, if you're really looking for weird stuff, you'll still enjoy the inexplicably theatrical denouement and the numerously shameless attempts at product placement by Coca Cola.

You don't necessarily expect to find social undercurrents in a film entitled Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter but that is what you get here. In fact it turns out that this sensational and very cool title is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things, as there is little evidence of sex hunters to be found here. No, the story actually considers the serious topic of racism, more specifically the effects of the occupation in Japan by American soldiers after the Second World War. This led to an increase in mixed race Japanese and it is the persecution of this ethnic minority which much of the plot is built around. A racist male gang called the Eagles, who go around in American army jeeps, terrorise anybody of mixed-race heritage. They are led by a character called the Baron whose racism stems from the knowledge that his sister was raped by black American GIs during the occupation years. This gang of thugs is opposed by a girl gang called the Alley Cats who assist a mixed race man who is trying to find his missing sister while being consistently beaten down by the Eagles.

This is a film which comes under the banner of Japanese exploitation films known as Pinky Violence. These films were essentially crime films which combined elements of sex and violence with a focus on sexy leading actresses. The queen of the genre was the very alluring Meiko Kaji, who stars here as the leader of the Alley Cats. She has fantastic screen presence and is a master of the cold stare. In this one she achieves this while often sporting a fabulously enormous hat. Like in all of these films she starred in Kaji is a major reason they are so good. This one isn't too salacious to be honest, especially taking into account what you might think given its title, although it admittedly does feature the rather awful idea known as a rape party. But its appeal lies mainly in other directions such as its psychedelic musical interlude and its stylish presentation. It also has a bit of a downbeat ending which leaves us with more questions than answers, which only illustrates further that this is pretty left-of-centre stuff. If I had to criticise, it would be to say that there probably wasn't as much girl gang action as I would ideally have liked. But all-in-all, I thought this was pretty good value.

This film essentially revolves around a female street gang led by a young woman named "Mako" (Meiko Kaji) that is having problems with a male gang known as "the Eagles" which is led by a man called "the Baron" (Tatsuya Fuji). To that effect, although the Baron is quite attracted to Mako, what he doesn't like is the fact that some of the local women with connections to her gang are hanging out with certain young men who are of mixed Japanese and Afro-American descent. So, in order to further his racist views, he and his men resort to extremely violent measures to expel them from the area. What he doesn't count on, however, is one particular young man named "Kazuma" (Rikiya Yasuoka) who is willing to endure all kinds of abuse in order to find his younger sister who was separated from him many years earlier. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I thought this film was slightly better than its immediate predecessor due to its more dramatic plot. Having said that, however, I must admit that there were a couple of scenes that were somewhat unrealistic. Even so, I liked this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

On the face of it, this is a very "violent youth" type of exploitation film but there are some very interesting social matters running through the film. It revolves around the relationship between Japanese, occupying Americans and the "half" offspring of the groups.

There are interesting contrasts. Baron's gang runs around in American military jeeps yet we see through flashback that Baron's hatred of "halfs" may spring from his sister being raped by a US serviceman. His gang sets up a "party" with foreigners but they are the most ugly and brutish types imaginable. We have these ugly stereotypes of whites on the one hand yet the soundtrack features an on-cameras role by the group "Golden Halfs", five attractive "half" japanese women.

This is all packaged in a fantastic Suzuki style "exploitation "film. Great use of color and composition mark the influence of the Seijin Suzuki style on the director Hasabe. A great film for any "Violent Youth" fans.