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Sex & Fury movie review

Relesed the same year as Toho’s Lady Snowblood, Toei’s entry in the female-gambler period piece sub-genre of Sukeban (translated “delinquency”) shares more than a few similarities with that landmark film. In Sex & Fury Reiko Ike plays Ocho, a gambler/thief in late Meiji era Japan. Saddled from a young age with avenging the wrongful death of her detective father at the hands of three masked bandits, Reiko searches high and low in hopes of finding the culprits, her only evidence the flower/death cards retrieved from her father’s corpse. When Ocho helps an anarchist escape punishment by a local crime boss she inadvertently sets herself on a collision course with her father’s murderers, and raises the ire of more than a few Yakuza in the process.

A seminal entry into Toei’s Pinky Violence run (which in itself was a direct response to Nikkatsu’s Roman Porno series of films), Sex & Fury is primarily a tits and ass film targeted toward single urban males. It’s got a romantic interracial sub-plot to satisfy any women who happen to attend the screening, two action set-pieces and a host of sexual situations to please the guys. Amazing camerawork being a staple of the short-lived Pinky Violence genre, where studios hired only the best of the best cinematographers, regardless of the subjectmatter, Sex & Fury is no exception. Director of Photography Motoyo Washio’s (Sword of Destiny) camerawork is especially fluid. Every shot, whether capturing dynamic action or static object, is optimized for maximum visual impact. Washio also uses stage lighting, as was a visual mainstay in a great deal of the popular films of the day (see the works of Seijun Suziki for instance), for innovative visual tricks and further punctuation of the already vibrant color scheme.

Director Norifumi Suzuki (School of the Holy Beast), founder of the Sukeban genre, infuses the tale with a strong sense of fun and camp, throwing in such oddities as switchblade-wielding nuns and more than a few off-color jokes. The aforementioned action sequences, the most memorable being Reiko Ike’s nude swordfight, are exceptionally well done, if a bit too few and far between. The fun tone is marred however by a few creepy rape sequences and a sequence of chain-bondage and torture. Star Reiko Ike reportedly had misgivings about appearing nude in the film, which she believed her family would possibly see, and her anguish is clear in that latter sequence, making for very uncomfortable viewing. Reiko proves a competent filmic avenger, though not quite up to par with the exploitation icon Meiko Kaji (Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion). Worthy of note is Suzuki’s casting of Christina Lindberg, who would star the following year in Thriller: A Cruel Picture, as an occidental spy and quick-draw expert. Lindberg, though certainly not known for her acting ability, brings far more believability to this supporting role than her starring effort.

The film’s visual panache alone has led many reviewers to state this film rises above its exploitation roots, crossing into art, though admittedly these reviewers are the same people that claim to have enjoyed The Dreamers for its political subtext, or to read Playboy solely for the articles. The film is gorgeous, and the story engaging, but it is still, as the title plainly proclaims, a sex and violence picture. A beautiful, honest sex and violence picture, mind you. Its raw, fuck-all attitude trumps any embarrassed-justification one may seek for their enjoyment of it. And because of that it is exemplary.

About the Author:

Chris Nelson is not afriad to stand by his opinion. For example, to this day he still claims Roger Avary’s The Rules of Attraction was better followup effort than Quentin’s Kill Bill.

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Tags: Norifumi Suzuki, pinky violence, Reiko Ike, Splatter