Supermarket Woman (1996) [Film Review]

Supermarket Woman; or, Ideal Shop
     You know, it’s the customers that make a supermarket. The egg incident taught me how scary that can be. Take a look. Thousands of people living here… all wanting the best they can get for their hard-earned money.
Supermarket Woman is a penultimate movie directed by Juzo Itami before his untimely death. It took me quite a while to track it down, but finally, I got to see it. Similarly to his previous works, Supermarket Woman (starring his real-life wife Nobuko Miyamato in the leading role) is a funny, light, feel-good comedy.

Release Info

Directed by: Juzo Itami Starring: Nobuko Miyamoto, Masahiko Tsugawa, Yuji Miyake

Language: Japanese Original Title: スーパーの女 Runtime: 127 min

Synopsis
Kobayashi Goro (Masahiko Tsugawa) is the General Manager of a small “Honest Goro” supermarket which is co-owned by his brothers. All of a sudden, the business is threatened by competition in the form of “Bargain Galore” supermarket which gains fame for its price-cutting techniques. While spying in the hostile shop, Goro bumps into a colleague from grade school, Hanako Inoue (Nobuko Miyamoto). Hanako, being an experienced housewife, knows exactly how supermarkets are cheating their clients and what kind of treatment an average client expects. Goro, evidently impressed by Hanako’s knowledge, immediately hires her as the head of the Customer Service Department. An energetic woman starts to change the stale shop environment, turning “Honest Goro” into the best supermarket in Japan.

Shopping Specialist
Juzo Itami’s films always focus on some social topic: for example, Marusa no Onna (1987) was about taxes, and Minbo (1992) highlighted the issue of yakuza. Supermarket Woman, as the title suggests, is about the supermarkets, but not the big chain ones, those smaller in size where you can buy primarily food.

This film is definitely at the top together with Tampopo (1985) and The Funeral (1984). Contrary to these pictures, it does not contain dark humour. Rather than that, it is a heart-warming story about two friends joining forces and trying to serve their customers as efficiently as possible. Evidently, it is a fictional tale, but I like to think that in such a country as Japan, the supermarket workers are always trying their best.

Also, the unfavourable side of business is exposed as well. We get to see how the sellers cheat on meat, vegetables, and promotion. Without a doubt, these dubious practices are a common occurrence in the world of today and each customer should be cautious while doing shopping.

With regard to performances, Nobuko Miyamoto and Masahiko Tsugawa (who already appeared together in Itami’s A Taxing Woman movies) shine together on the screen as two friends who rely on each other. In addition, there are some great supporting parts done by Akiko Matsumoto and Yuji Miyake.

Recommendations
If you are a fan of Juzo Itami’s films, then definitely check out Supermarket Woman. It will uplift your mood after a hard day and also provide some food for thought (about supermarkets). All in all, Juzo Itami and Nobuko Miyamoto never fail to provide great entertainment.

Overall score: 8/10

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Woman in Witness Protection (1997) [Film Review]

Woman in Witness Protection; or, See no Evil, Hear no Evil
     It’s fine. It’s called acting.
The late director Juzo Itami always crafted his movies around the topical concerns which troubled society, and Woman in Witness Protection is no exception. This time, the main heroine (as always played by Itami’s wife, Nobuko Miyamoto) finds herself on the run from a vicious cult. As a matter of fact, Itami focused on the issue of religious cults as early as 1988 in A Taxing Woman’s Return, where an IRS agent investigates an insidious religious group that is suspected of tax evasion.

Release Info

Directed by: Juzo Itami Starring: Nobuko Miyamoto, Masahiko Nishimura, Takehiro Murata

Language: Japanese Original Title: マルタイの女 Runtime: 131 min

Synopsis
In Woman in Witness Protection, we follow Biwako Isono (Nobuko Miyamoto), a shallow and spoiled movie star. All of a sudden, she witnesses a gruesome murder of an anti-cult lawyer and his wife. In order to protect the actress from religious fanatics, the police provide her with specially trained witness protection officers until the trial. In the meantime, Biwako has to deal with various means of harassment and attempts to tarnish her public image.

All the World’s a Stage
To put it in simple terms, Woman in Witness Protection is Juzo Itami’s middle finger towards Aum Shinrikyo. By means of his usual black comedy style and brutal satire, the director exposes the fallacies of the cult and how it engages in domestic terrorism. The premise of the story is actually based on the real-life murder of Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family. In addition, Itami can’t help himself but name Aum and Asahara in one of the interrogation scenes when police officers try to disprove the might of the glorious “Guru” by stating that he actually can’t levitate.

The movie is divided into appropriate sections (the murder, the investigation, the arrest, etc.) in order to present the sequence of events and how the law enforcement works. In the midst of all that we have Biwako Isono who is not entirely sure how she should behave as a witness, yet she has to maintain her acting profession while the cult is targeting her.

I believe that the closest equivalent of Woman in Witness Protection is Itami's Minbo (1992). That is, both films tackle controversial topics and have huge shifts in tone (comedic scenes are crosscut with dead serious sequences).

With regard to performances, Nobuko Miyamoto aces it once again by playing a highly energetic, outspoken, yet complex heroine. Words of appreciation also go to Masahiko Nishimura and Takehiro Murata as policemen protecting Nobuko’s character from numerous dangers. In addition, Masahiko Tsukgawa, another Itami’s regular, has a small but interesting role of Biwako’s love interest.

Recommendations
All in all, Woman in Witness Protection is a very clever comedy drama, but this is not to say that the film is free from ghastly sequences. In a Tarantino-like manner, Itami underlines the fact that nothing will stop religious fanatics from accomplishing their goals (even if it means threatening, bribery, or killing). It is quite a shame that this was the director's last movie before his untimely demise.Overall score: 7/10

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Crazy Thunder Road (1980) [Film Review]

Crazy Thunder Road; or, Falling Down
     I founded the Maboroshi group eight years ago. Now I'm one of its seniors. You should know I'm on your side. I'm right behind you guys who want to raise hell on your bikes. You beat the pseudo grown-ups any day. But listen, Jin... This way you'll end up wasting your energy.
When it comes to punk-charged aesthetics accompanied by outstanding cinematography and a strong critical comment on modern society, Gakuryu Ishii (also known as Sogo Ishii) is the go-to director. In this review, I am taking a look at his university “senior thesis” project called Crazy Thunder Road, a biker-gang classic that is about to be released for the first time in the West by Third Window Films

Release Info

Directed by: Gakuryu (Sogo) Ishii Starring: Tatsuyo Yamada, Koji Nanjo, Michiko Kitahara

Language: Japanese Original Title: 狂い咲きサンダーロード Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis
Ken (Koji Nanjo) is the leader of a Maboroshi biker group. He calls it quits because he wants to have a quiet life with his girlfriend Noriko (Michiko Kitahara). However, Jin (Tatsuyo Yamada) opposes the idea to merge the gang with another organisation, so he takes over the leadership. In order to preserve his individuality, Jin will have to fight against yakuza kingpins and ultra-nationalist militants.

Seize the Day and Set it on Fire
Even though Gakuryu Ishii was already known in Japan for the Panic High School (1978) movie he co-directed, Crazy Thunder Road got him into the showbiz of Japanese Cinema. The Toei executives were so impressed with the young filmmaker’s punk feature, which was made because, allegedly, he wanted to continue using university equipment, they have upscaled the original 16mm negative into a 35mm presentation and gave the movie a nationwide release.

In my opinion, Crazy Thunder Road has to be seen twice in order to be understood. You just don’t know what to expect from Gakuryu Ishii, the visionary who gave us The Crazy Family (1984), Angel Dust (1994), and August in the Water (1995). Crazy Thunder Road is a low-budget introduction into the cyberpunk genre made in Japan. That is to say, we have bosozoku characters but their manic attitude, especially Jin’s, is cranked up to the max. The nihilistic and industrialised atmosphere of the film gives off the feeling as if society is on the brink of destruction. Indeed, Jin himself is torn between chaos and order as we see him meandering between right-wing crazies and yakuza nutjobs. All in all, the only way out for the main hero is to oppose every kind of authority.

In many reviews, you can find Crazy Thunder Road being compared to Mad Max (1979) and The Warriors (1979). I believe that Midnight Eye team was spot on with their own analysis of the film when saying that Ishii’s feature, in terms of its basic yet efficient resourcefulness resembles Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981): “Both films are dazzling showcases of ostentatious film school experimentation coupled with an undeniably accomplished technical proficiency and razor-sharp editing” (source).

Personally, I would add that if it had not been for Crazy Thunder Road, there would not have been Akira (1988) in its present form. After watching Ishii’s bikes-and-guns epic, it becomes obvious that the film had an influence on Katsuhiro Otomo. The two even collaborated together on the adaptation of Otomo’s manga Run in 1981. What is more, the action-packed finale of Crazy Thunder Road predates the showdown between Deckard and Roy Batty in Blade Runner by two years!

In terms of disadvantages, the erratic pacing has to be addressed. Perhaps this is only my own reflection, but it seems as if a lot of the footage was, in fact, cut out in the editing process. At times, there is a strong prevalence that a certain scene is just missing as we see the characters jump from one location to another. Still, this uncanny feeling is compensated by the exhaustively dynamic performance of the late Tatsuyo Yamada as Jin.

Recommendations
If you seek for an unusual, anti-establishment motion picture from the hallmarks of film history, I recommend Gakuryu Ishii’s Crazy Thunder Road. It’s a 42-year-old university project that keeps on giving to this day. The Third Window Blu-ray release comes out on the 21st of February. Their edition includes a new master of the film approved by Gakuryu Ishii, new interview with the director, audio commentary by Tom Mes, and a video essay by Jasper Sharp on Jishu Eiga.Overall score: 7/10

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