An unconventional kind of Japanese cinema

In the world of Japanese cinema, amongst more traditional directors such as Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, there was one man who always strayed away from convention: Seijun Suzuki. Suzuki, never one to follow the standards, always focuses on films with a darker side and more critical message regarding Japanese culture (something that would cost him his job with Nikkatsu Studios later in life). Within two years (1964-1965), Suzuki leant his artistic vision to five films, two of which were "Gate of Flesh" and "Story of a Prostitute," both adapted from author Taijiro Tamura's blue novels. These weren't films about the geishas found strolling happily through city streets; they're about a much fiercer kind of working girl. \n"Gate of Flesh," set in post-WWII Japan, finds a band of prostitutes trying to maintain their existence within a nation slowly rebuilding itself. Times are hard, finding work is much harder, but they make due through theft and relying on each other. That is until they take the lost Maya (Yumiko Nogawa) and wounded Shintaro (Joe Shishido) into their dark den and problems arise. \n"Story of a Prostitute" is quite the opposite as it is pre-WWII and tells the tale of comfort woman Harumi (also Yumiko Nogawa) working the Manchurian front in 1937. She is forced to service a battalion of men a day, but the suffering inflicted upon her by Lieutenant Narita (Isao Tamagawa) causes Harumi to fall for the much lower Private Mikami (Tamio Kawachi) in hope that he will save her somehow. \nAs I said before, Suzuki works critique into his films. The hookers in "Flesh" are extremely vile women, far from the politeness found in Japanese culture. Their leader Komasa Sen (Satoko Kasai) starts fights with other women, spits on passersby in the street and wears tattoos as if she were a yakuza (gangster) leader while the rest of her gang follows suit. "Story," while not as extreme with female behavior, still offers an attack on Japanese military policies and ranking systems. \nWith his artistic vision (supported by production designer Takeo Kimura), Suzuki crafts two completely different films. "Flesh" is filmed in color and features the kind of bright flair (see the women's dresses) intermixed with grimy postwar landscapes. "Story" is shot in black and white, except it often seems to have a silvery glow creating an almost ghostly effect. Both are quite different, but beautiful nonetheless. \nSuzuki films seem to rarely have many extras. Both DVDs (which can be purchased separately) come with more than 20 minutes of interview footage with Suzuki and Kimura, essays and theatrical trailers. The "Flesh" DVD includes a stills gallery which is worth looking at just for the gorgeous storyboards. Like I said, nothing huge, but certainly worthwhile. \nSo if you're looking for Japanese cinema with a more unique flavor, almost anything from Seijun Suzuki is worth your time. He is one of Japan's last great living directors (at age 82 he is still making films) who, while often imitated (Quentin Tarantino, Takashi Miike), is never close to being duplicated.