Victimized (女高生飼育) (Japan, 1975) [35mm] – 3/5
Another true account crime tale conceived as a “Toei New Porno” production. The film is loosely based on the same schoolgirl kidnapping case as The Perfect Education (1999), with Eimei Esumi as a middle aged English teacher who kidnaps 17 year old schoolgirl Yoko Asakura. Initially reluctant to be his sex slave, she soon develops a Stockholm syndrome and romance follows (*)... Yes, it’s a little difficult to defend this film as entertainment of any sort, and it could even be interpreted as call for sympathy for criminal incels. Yet, typical to mid-70s Toei exploitation, it comes off strangely watchable and certainly has its jitsuroku vibes with time stamps and all. There’s even a bizarre, out of the blue “underground gore party” club scene, not to mention a slight S&M vibe. The latter is probably the influence of Naomi Tani films at Nikkatsu, and most likely creditable to screenwriter Ikuo Sekimoto, who would later helm a pair of actual S&M fares for Nikkatsu (Rope Torture, 1984, and Double Rope Torture, 1985). Director Tatsuo Honda helms the picture with professionalism – at least if we ignore a couple of unintentionally comical drama bits –, the tech credits are fine, and the film looks better than the minimal budget might have you expect. It was the end of the directorial run for Honda, though: he was re-assigned to producer’s duties for the rest of his career after this movie. Not bad, but Honda’s earlier “Toei New Porno” effort A Married Woman’s Sex Hell (1974) was more exiting with its Masahiro Kakefuda script and hard boiled revenge film climax.
* There is no proof that this ever happened in the real life case.
Jidaigeki Special: Lone Wolf and Cub (時代劇スペシャル 子連れ狼) (Japan, 1984) [TV] – 2/5
A rarely seen television movie adapting roughly the same story passage as Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972). The 91 min movie starts with Ogami Itto (Kinnosuke Nakamura) on the road, and then covers the conflict with Lord Retsudo (Rentaro Mikuni) in flashbacks before heading to the same hot springs village as the theatrical film. This being an 80s television production the graphic violence of the source material has been greatly toned down, however, nudity is still plentiful with Mieko Harada topless in several scenes. Sadly the big name cast doesn't get to shine much here. Touted as a comeback film for Nakamura, whose career had been put on a pause in 1982 due to Myasthenia gravis, the movie sees him returning to Ogami Itto’s boots six years after his stint in the TV show version in 1973-1976. Unfortunately he sleepwalks through the film. TV veteran Hitoshi Ozu’s helming of the film is similarly uninspired. It lacks the cutting edge visual execution, the visceral action, and the attention to natural detail of Misumi’s films, and somehow also comes off much less touching in its depiction of the father-son relationship. Essentially, this is Sword of Vengeance toned down for television audiences, both graphically and artistically.
Note: this movie is frequently mistaken for The Fugitive Samurai (1984), a re-edited compilation movie of three episodes of the television show. Many film databases list them as the one and same movie, which they are not, and have their credits all mixed up.