Here is a nice slice of sleaze and violence from Taiwan that is categorized
as a Black movie that were exploitation-genre films from a certain period
when Taiwan broke loose a bit and showed more contemporary violence and nudity.
Their kung fu films had plenty of violence of course but it was sheathed
in the past. This was today. Though perhaps to protect themselves from the
censors they move it to Tokyo but as the director of Taiwanese Black Movies
says - anything that happens here could just as easily have happened in Taipei
and the audience knew that. Or Hong Kong needless to say. It is a downbeat
film from beginning to end - no goofy comedy - just women being brutalized
and women getting some revenge. Not as much as I would have liked though.
The body count needed to be much higher at the end.
It begins with a clever back and forth set-up - Mei-hua has written a letter
to her lifelong friend Ling from their days at the orphanage. Ling reads
the letter as her dance students practice around her and as Mei-hua back
in Tokyo disrobes and enters a public steam bath. Probably not the best thing
to have done when there is a contract out on your life. In the letter she
tells Ming that she has gotten involved in the underworld and may be killed
- and if she is please come to Tokyo and take her younger sister Mei-feng
back to Hong Kong. Which is where Ling lives and which explains her kung-fu
skills! Well, Mei-hua is murdered but apparently she stole a few cans of
heroin from the Yakuza Noguchi and he will be killed by the Big Boss if he
doesn't recover it. That is a motivation.
When Ling comes to Tokyo they are waiting for her and assume she knows where
the heroin is and try to kidnap her but that doesn't go well for the two
thugs. But they don't give up and keep pushing Ling to the breaking
point. Or is that the killing point. She even has to do the dice gambling
trick - snake eyes on top of each other to win the sister back. How did you
do that her friend asks incredulously. I watched my father growing up. And
she comes from Hong Kong. When they take one of her eyes out she brings two
old friends in to help. One, oddly named Momoe Yamaguchi (a famous Japanese
singer - this is not her) who runs a kung-fu school for women and they are
happy not only to help but to wear these skimpy white outfits that show a
lot of skin and certainly distract the men. The poisonous snake down the
man's underwear was a nice touch.
A few scenes stick out. Ying goes looking for the sister in an area called
Harajuku where hundreds of kids are dancing with the women in 1950s party
dresses. I wonder if that is still a thing. The other is a really hard to
watch torture scene of a woman by putting her on a crucifix, turning it upside
down, ripping off her top and pouring ants on her. Bonus points for that
actress. Ling is played by Yan Hui-shan but better known to Hong Kong film
fans as Elsa Yeung or Yang and who appeared in a bunch of sleazy or nutty
action films like Pink Force Command or Golden Queen Commando alongside Brigitte
Lin. A good start to my Taiwanese Black Movies. This had a nice flow to it,
well-photographed and acted. Directed by Ulysses Au-Yeung Jung who directed
Lover Beware and Phoenix the Raider with Brigitte.
