This is not a love song,

Okay as this blog is also meant to be about films, I include a review of a film I rented from those lovely robots at Lovefilm.com:

Yakuza Graveyard

Directed by Kinji Fukasaki, who also directed Battle Royale and The Green Slime, Yakuza Graveyard is a 70’s Japanese gangsta flick about the blurry boundaries between cop and criminal. Kuroiwa is a low-level cop who enjoys smacking around criminals for a living. Nevertheless, he soon allies himself with a Yakuza gang when he finds out that the High Brass in the Japanese police force are corrupt as hell and working with another Yakuza faction.

In this film there are no good guys. Kuroiwa, the character we follow, is no better than the corrupt cops who beat him up. He believes in things like honour and loyalty, but still betrays the yakuza whom he has sworn brotherhood to. In the end, the only action he can think of to redeem himself is to walk into Police HQ and start shooting at his bosses. Of course this leads to a bullet in the back, from his former partner, for his troubles.

The setting for this film is a moral no-man’s-land, casting up a number of variations on the theme of corrupt men who are striving to be honourable. Low-level yakuza, trying to be honourable when they’re superiors cave in to the corrupt police become paired with low-level cops, trying to be honourable when they’re superiors are bought by the yakuza. The only thing that separates Kuroiwa from his antagonists is his attempts at redemption, as misguided and flawed as they may be.

This is a great film, well written with great characters. Visually, it is frenetic, a hand-held camera that lunges from horizontal to vertical when violence ensues, mirroring the topsy-turvy, unstable world these characters reside in, where at any moment their allegiances may turn. Beautiful mise-en-scene frames Kuroiwa when he interacts with other characters. His placement in the frame becomes a visual metaphor for his relationship with the other characters. The acting is from that 70s hardboiled school of Japanese Gangsta Flicks, plenty of cigarettes hanging from lips and palms being punched in angst. Overall a great piece of Japanese Cinema.

Recommended!

Also read Luke Cage Hero for Hire issue 2 on the bus this morning. This issue recaps the origin from issue 1 (a little too much of a recap for my liking) and concludes the vengeance scheme of Luke Cage against his former friend, now arch-enemy Willis Stryker a.k.a. Diamondback!!!!! This issue still stays in the realm of blaxpoitation, with Cage acting as a super powered Shaft. The origin is also explored in more detail, something I was glad of, as parts seem to be glossed over in the 1st issue, such as why Luke Cage would finally start to wear a gaudy yellow costume, with a big metal chain as a belt (those must be some heavy pants, Luke!) and where he got his outfit from.

The idea of a superhero who expects to get paid for his good deeds, and motivated by revenge is a refreshing change from the idealistic superheroes who came before him, who as soon as they received powers decided to fight crime, often with no motivation. And that more than anything is what is keeping me interested in the exploits of Mr Cage. I’m dreading/expecting the issue where Luke veers off into standard superhero territory but until then, Luke baby, I’m all yours.