Tattooed Life (1965)

☆ ☆ ☆

Tattooed Life (1965) – S. Suzuki

Seijun Suzuki (who died earlier this year at 93) was famous for his wackily surreal yakuza flicks (Tokyo Drifter, 1966, and Branded to Kill, 1967), so it comes as some surprise that this earlier film is rather lacklustre.  That isn’t to say it doesn’t contain some inventive sequences, particularly the climactic battle at the end, but too often it plays like a 1950s drama splashed on the widescreen but with little edge to the proceedings.  Or perhaps I was just disappointed relative to my expectations– there is eccentricity here but not enough!  Hideki Takahashi plays Tetsu, a yakuza everyman on the run after he and his brother Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto) kill a rival gangster.  Tetsu has been raising (and sheltering) sensitive Kenji since their parents died but Kenji has ideas of his own once they settle down as small town construction workers (coveting the boss’s wife and causing problems as a result).  In the end, Tetsu reveals his yakuza past (previously hidden) and stands up against another rival gang threatening to take over the construction business (after Kenji meets foul play).  And thus we get the climactic battle, shown from all angles.  Start elsewhere with Suzuki (or perhaps start here and be pleasantly surprised by the other films).