Under The Open Sky; or, Homecoming We'll face our fate. But you still have this chance. You have to be patient out here. Patient with few rewards. But at least, you can live under the open sky. Mikami-san, don't ruin this chance! When it comes to slice-of-life dramas currently made in Japan, only Miwa Nishikawa matches the greatness of Hirokazu Koreeda. She may not churn out as many movies as her fellow collaborator, but it does not mean that these are lesser works of art. This is my review of her latest film called Under The Open Sky.
Language: Japanese Original Title: すばらしき世界 Runtime: 126 min
Synopsis Masao Mikami (Koji Yakusho) is an ex-yakuza who just finished serving 13 years in prison. He regains his freedom and wants to lead an honest life, but reality is not so simple for a former convict. Masao struggles to find a job and even socialise with people. What he only knows is the life of crime. Hoping to find his long lost mother, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director, Tsunoda (Taiga Nakano).
Coin Locker Baby In my opinion, Under The Open Sky gives strong Ryu Murakami vibes but without gore and extreme violence. What I mean is that the film presents a powerful slice-of-life drama, exposing yet another topical problem which is not discussed among the Japanese public. While many classic films like Abashiri Prison (1965) or The Yellow Handkerchief (1977) praise reintegration of an individual into a society, Miwa Nishikawa takes us on a visual journey which analyses the validity of that process.
It is disheartening and touching at the same time to watch the main protagonist trying to get a grip on himself. There are so many wonderful scenes in the film, but my definite favourites will be: driving lessons, a personal conversation with Mrs Shimoinaba, and singing at an orphanage.
Koji Yakusho is absolutely brilliant in the leading role as a man who wants to change his life for the better but encounters many unexpected obstacles. His performance is undeniably the driving force of the picture, so it comes as no surprise that Koji won in Best Performance category at the Chicago International Film Festival.
The rest of the cast is also amazing. We get to see such veterans in the supporting roles as Isao Hashizume, Meiko Kaji, Narumi Yasuda, and Midoriko Kimura. Interestingly, Masami Nagasawa herself also briefly appears in two scenes, but her role does not extend beyond that. Taiga Nakano has a wonderful onscreen chemistry with Koji Yakusho.
Recommendations Had it not been for the painfully predictable ending, I would have called this movie one of the best releases in 2021. The screenplay is wonderful, characters memorable, and cinematography so natural and picturesque. As a viewer, you just can’t help but champion Mikami’s personal fight for a better life.
Overall score: 8/10
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This week’s review will be about a movie that “inspired”
Quentin Tarantino to make one of his intertextual mash-ups known as Kill
Bill (2003). Lady Snowblood is a simple revenge tale about a woman trying to avenge
her parents' death, but contrary to Tarantino’s morbid and disjointed picture, this film presents the story in a more sophisticated and definitely truer way to the
chanbara genre.
Japan has entered the Meiji era in the 1870s, the period
during which the Shogunate ceased to exist, the power was restored to the
Emperor, and industrial development ensued. However, in the midst of
socio-political changes, crime flourished as well. Four ruthless criminals brutally
kill the village teacher, his son, and rape his wife. Having
ended up in prison, the disgraced woman gives birth to a daughter whom she calls
Yuki (snow) and, before dying, she tells the inmates to raise the child for
vengeance. Given an exhausting training by a priest Dōkai (Ko Nishimura), Yuki (Meiko Kaji) grows up to
become a professional assassin. The priest calls her “a child of the
netherworlds,” a demon spirit that came to this world for the sole purpose of
revenge. Indeed, Yuki assumes her new identity as Shura Yuki Hime (Lady
Snowblood) and sets out to hunt down the killers of her family.
The Unsurpassed Classic
After seeing Lady Snowblood, I thought it wasn’t
surprising that Tarantino made his pitiful mixed-bag of various genre
references, since the original film, whichserved as inspiration, is so bloody damn good. Financed
independently, directed by Nikkatsu-veteran Toshiya Fujita,
and starring glorious Meiko Kaji (already known at the time for Stray Cat Rock
and FemaleConvict 701: Scorpion series),the movie is an adaptation of manga by
Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura.
Ironically, the film is vastly different in tone and style
that Fujita usually used to do for Nikkatsu, but it’s his only picture that has mainstream recognition outside of Japan. Allegedly, it took some time for
Meiko Kaji to be persuaded to play the part and, eventually, she agreed on
condition of having some input in the shaping of the character. Thus, Lady
Snowblood is not a typical pink/exploitation flick of its times, but primarily
an action violence picture. We follow Yuki’s quest, divided into four chapters,
in which we see her beginnings, each step as she tracks down and mercilessly kills the
criminals, and the morbid finale of her revenge at the "House of Joys" that keeps you on the edge of
your seat.
Some of the more particular cinema connoisseurs unanimously claim
that Lady Snowblood is just an outdated, poorly executed B-Movie. Well… they could not be more wrong. Only those who have not seen the movie
can claim something like that. Lady Snowblood is literally an unpolished gem among samurai flicks. It perfectly delivers the story of good vs.
evil in which the protagonist masterfully slaughters the baddies.
What’s more,
the film also rocks in terms of character development. Even though we know that
Yuki is just a female assassin, as the plot progresses, we may slightly doubt
her earthly nature. We never see her eat or drink, or even engage into sexual
intercourse and display her body. Yuki is only focused on completing her
mission, her destiny, because it is the only reason of her coming into this
world. Although we may perceive some “love interest” through the character
of Ryūrei Ashio (Toshio Kurosawa), this is not his function in the story; Ashio serves to provide a metatextual comment
on the events and tie-in the storytelling structure of manga to that of the
film.
In terms of filmmaking techniques, the picture was simply
ahead of its times. The very first scene of Yuki taking on the gang of thugs is
beautifully staged and choreographed. The 180-degree-shots of fighting Yuki
match perfectly with the framing shots in crowded scenes as well as the handheld
sequences of chasing, not to mention lots of Yuki close-ups to hint at her
twisted psyche and barely controlled wrath.
In other words, Toshiya Fujita did a splendid job in his
directorial duties and Meiko Kaji steals the picture with her mesmerising
performance, making the role of Shura Yuki Hime easily the best one in her
career. I’m not saying that Lady Snowblood is a flawless film, because it could
have been a little longer, more linear in its narration, and more elaborativeon the
historical context of the Meiji era. Nevertheless, if the movie had a bigger budget and had been made a bit earlier (in the golden era of samurai classics),
I’m confident that it would get the attention it rightfully deserves.
Recommendations
I recommend this to anyone who likes good old revenge flicks
with moderate amounts of bloodshed but greater emphasis on the main character
and enormous pay off at the end. To me, Lady Snowblood is a Japanese version of
Once Upon a Time in the West. If you like this feeling of spaghetti westerns,
but at the same time dislike the overt craziness of Tarantino, then Lady Snowblood is the movie for you.
