#fumiowatanabe

[budaallmusic]

Ohtomo Yoshio Quartet ‎– Oh! Friends #Frasco 1976 🇯🇵 Japan Alto Saxophone – #OhtomoYoshio Bass – #SatoshiKosugi Design – #HideomiIshikawa Drums – #FumioWatanabe Photography By – #TakumiUchida Piano – #JunichiroOhguchi Producer – #KitazawaYasutaka https://www.instagram.com/p/CJEo-7WMrGe/?igshid=1k1lcaxyvtdmo

[budaallmusic]

adao Watanabe Meets Inter-African Theatre Group ‎– Kenya Ya Africa #CBSSony 1973 Japan Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone, Flute – #SadaoWatanabe Bass, Electric Bass – #YoshioSuzuki Design – #ShuichiYoshida Drums – #FumioWatanabe Electric Piano – #TakehiroHonda Engineer – Okihiko Sugano Engineer [Editing] – Tomoo Suzuki Illustration [Cover] – #HajimeFukuchi Photography By – #KatsuhikoSugano Producer – Yukio Morisaki Vocals, Percussion – #AnneWaithera, #ClaraTsuma, #HelenNthambiri, #JacintaKamau, #JanNicholson, #LennyJuma, #MaryMumbi, #MerryVundla, Peter "Mutiso" Kimunio*, #PeterNjoroge, #SalomeAwino, #TomMwangi Vocals, Percussion [Lead] – #GeorgeMenoe https://www.instagram.com/p/BqA7KMQAtfA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12hk1vtp40rmn

[doomonfilm]

Screenings : Female Convict Scorpion - Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Cinema can certainly be a venue for beauty, deep thought and heavy emotion, but by that same rationale, it can be prime for exploitation.  Alamo Drafthouse, well aware of that fact, has been celebrating exploitation with their Fist City series, an attempt to show the artistic merit behind some of the more popular exploitation properties.  The latest in the series is the Shunya Ito classic, Female Convict Scorpion : Jailhouse 41. 

Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji), known as the Scorpion, is a prisoner serving solitary confinement in a hole in the basement of a women’s prison.  Inspector Goda (Fumio Watanabe), proud of his recent promotion to Chief Inspector, decides to parade all of his prisoners, including Matsushima, in front of a fellow inspector, only to have Matsushima attack him.  Emboldened by the attack, the rest of the female prisoners riot behind the leadership of vocal prisoner Oba (Kayoko Shiraishi).  Enraged at the insolence, Inspector Goda punishes all of the women via hard labor, making sure to humiliate Matsushima by having a group of guards rape her in front of the rest of the prisoners.  With her status tarnished, she is attacked in the transport home, causing the guards to stop the transport.  Matsushima takes advantage of the situation and escapes, with Oba and five other prisoners in tow.  With Inspector Goda hot on their trail, the group of ladies hide in abandoned towns and amongst tourist, constantly facing danger in their attempt at freedom.

I went into this film basically blind, and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the film.  The promotions really lean heavy on the stylized elements of the film, and rightly so.  For all of the exploitative moments and cheap shock the film throws at you, it more than makes up for it with brilliant cinematography and coloring.  There are little to no wasted frames in this film.  The camera moves all have clear intention, be it to make you uncomfortable, to put you in an otherworldly state of mind, or to heighten your pulse for the actions and standoffs.  Everyone in the cast has very distinct looks, and their looks wholly inform their intentions, making the dialogue play well.

Speaking of dialogue, Scorpion has a resolve of steel, as she may utter 6 words the entire film.  In place of protagonist dialogue, we are given direct and indirect antagonists on top of a handful of auxiliary characters, all of whom are more than willing to voice their thoughts and opinions, ultimately putting themselves on a level below Scorpion by default.  While not quite God level, Scorpion definitely sits in quiet judgement of the chaos and madness that goes on around her, silently tallying what level of retribution each person who makes her list deserves.  This makes the moments she takes action (or, even rarer, talks) hold incredible impact.

Meiko Kaji is a joy to watch among the grim exploitation, opting to go stoic with the acting while lending her voice to the soundtrack, both of which play powerfully well.  Fumio Watanabe and his stubborn inability to accept being bested by Scorpion give him a fuel that we, as the viewer, know will only lead him to suffering.  Kayoko Shiraishi is a formidable counter to Kaji, playing her role in such an unhinged nature that you find yourself truly worried for the welfare of others in her proximity.  

Taking chances on films you are unfamiliar with is part of the fun of being a cinema-goer.  Occasionally, you find yourself pleasantly surprised by a discovery, and that was certainly the case for Female Convict Scorpion : Jailhouse 41.  I definitely plan to check out the two Meiko Kaji films that bookend this original trilogy in the near future.