TheWolves

The Wolves (1971)

This is a Japanese crime movie set in the 1920s that revolves around a couple of Yakuza “families” that are trying to settle their differences after fighting over a lucrative business. This feud is only further complicated when several members of one of the families are pardoned and released from prison early on the occasion of the ascendance of the new Emperor. One of those released is Iwahashi, who returns aware that the rival family is gunning for him. Also returning home is Tsutomu, who was madly in love with the daughter of his family’s deceased boss. But she has been promised to someone else so that the marriage can serve to unite the feuding Yakuza families. But when Iwahashi discovers that there was some treachery involved in the death of the woman’s father, who was also the head of his family his Yakuza honor demands that he take vengeance no matter the personal cost.

I did the best that I could to quickly sum up what is a very complicated movie. To be honest this is a difficult movie to follow. It jumps right into the story and has what appear to be several assassinations by a pair of beautiful women. The only thing is that at the time you have no idea who the characters are and how they fit into the story. Eventually everything becomes clear, including the fact that the assassins are very good as a couple of characters that were thought to be dead return later in the film. Eventually the reason that the parolees were targeted; including a woman without any clear ties to either gang becomes obvious. But in the two plus hours it takes to get there I found the movie to be frustratingly vague and confusing at times. I’ve never been comfortable in judging the performances of a cast when either dubbing or subtitles are involved. In many cases much of the performance is lost in translation. But in the case of Tatsuya Nakadai who portrays the lead character of Iwahashi I’ll make an exception. His performance is so good that it easily obvious in spite of the language barrier. Much of the character is created from his body language and facial expressions. Especially the last 10 minutes of the movie where he is asking his former Yakuza brothers to stand aside, knowing that he will have to kill them to get his vengeance.

This movie is beautifully shot and takes full advantage of some wonderful outdoor scenery and locations. There are a couple of scenes that stick out for me. The first is of a sunrise that is framed inside a window with the audience looking out towards the sky. This is used to show the passage of time and is a neat little bit of filmmaking. The second is of a shot on the beach with the wrecked hulls of a couple of ships in the background. Between the sky, sun, and the beach this is one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen in a movie.

There are some things here that I really like about the Wolves. But to be honest unless you are a big fan of Japanese cinema and Yakuza films in particular you might find this hone hard to get thru. I love these movies and even I was frustrated by it. If after this warning you still are interested then check out the fine folks at AnimEigo for more information at www.animeigo.com/

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer