Gate of Flesh (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

For the second time since the vanishing of the samurai in the later half of the 1800s, the Japanese society lost its highly militaristic society, but this time to ultimate defeat and chaos. The Japanese military was on the retreat when the Americans delivered the final punch through their dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man - the atomic bombs. Tokyo was in a sense more fortunate than Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as they only had to deal with definitive destruction of firebombs dropped on the city. Nonetheless, in a heap of ashes and debris Tokyo reemerged through a chaotic mess where food, shelter, and clothing were something of a luxury. Within the bedlam of Tokyo, some people discovered that they had to find a way to survive despite the hardships. There were also those who found opportunity to make financial gains within the social confusion, as their dubious intentions sought profit of those less fortunate. Gate of Flesh by Seijun Suzuki provides a dark and dismal perspective of post-war Tokyo through a small number of characters portraying a large part of the Japanese society.Suzuki opens with a shot of Maya (Yumiko Nogawa), a young homeless woman shocked by the sudden fall of the Japanese Empire, who aimlessly drifts with the constant flow of people. Her lost presence together with the raspy lyrics of a record symbolically presents the societal confusion of everything that has been lost to the devastating fire. The wandering eyes of Maya hunt for food, safety, and possibly belonging while dodging the dangers that lurk in the background. The law has no compassion for humanity, as it seeks the desperate survivors that have no other choice than to pursue illegal alternatives to survive. On the tiny mud-stomped streets cutting between endless rows of provisional huts, Maya witnesses the law enforcement forcefully apprehending some of the destitute women, but with little resolve, as arrest is to be preferred over starvation. Life has fallen, and the Japanese lifestyle has struck the very bottom, which Suzuki illustrates with the countless hordes of drifting homeless and starving inhabitants of Tokyo.Eventually Maya's hunger catches up with her, as her morality can no longer control her fingers reaching for a meager meal. Inexperience in theft gets her caught, but a man extends his kindness by allowing her to eat her fill. However, it is a cruelly exploitive world, as she soon learns the true intentions of the man who plans to sell her body to lustful American soldiers. It is a rough and publicly humiliating initiation for Maya to the lower depths of the society where her redemption comes forward through the crimson red wearing Sen (Satoko Kasai). The first appearance of Sen provides a false description of her, as she looks like a blossoming flower among weeds. Her bright crimson dress is a strong contrast to the environment while her arrogance would fit a rich nobleman amidst filthy farmers. In essence, Sen attempts to put on a strong front, as she is also the self-proclaimed leader for a small gang of prostitutes to which Maya is introduced.All the women, in Sen's posse of prostitutes, offer an analogous presentation of different emotional reactions of the Japanese society to the aftermath of the war. Sen, dressed in crimson, allows the mind to think of the fear and impulsiveness that many experienced. On the other side of the spectrum, the outsider Machiko (Misako Tominaga) steps forward in customary kimono and wooden sandals. Machiko's attire suggestively represents the disciplined and meditative past before the war, but she also permits the audience to think of the errors of the past. In between Sen and Machiko, the purple dressed Mino (Kayo Matsuo) represents self-loathing, maybe in regards to defeat, or perhaps of the current state of the nation, while the understanding and compromising Roku (Tamiko Ishii) is clad in yellow. The newcomer Maya easily adjusts to this devious group of la femme fatale, as she later symbolically emerges in the color green. Green evokes the notion of a corrupt soul and envy while May's desire for carnal passion intensifies.These self-made women live under a strict dogma, which offers them protection and a steady income that provides the basic needs and group belonging. They have broken the chains of the patriarchal society and gotten rid of the middleman - the pimp. Sen educates Maya in their business while enlightening her in the principal rule, which they all must obey. It states, "Never give it to a guy for free. This is a business, and our bodies are our merchandise.", and later the audience will learn about the severe punishment for breaking their governing rule. Everything seems to run smoothly within the little carnal empire run by the women until the injured Ibuki (Jo Shishido) stumbles into their lives. Ibuki possesses a similar power over the women that the devil possesses over witches, as he commands the feminine creatures in their homely ruins. His presence stirs up the atmosphere with grave sexual tension, as most of the time Obuki seems to wander the screen clad in sweat and briefs while the desiring women observe his every move.Historically, a tendency of territorial behavior has emerged through human existence, as it also provides an opportunity to secure the basic needs. This craving to extend the borders of the territory often leads to war, as Japan tried to expand its control of Asia. The expansionism often finds its foundation within greed, as gains trigger a desire for additional gains while also being able to control these gains. Suzuki brings this notion into Gate of Flesh where the women and Ibuki struggle for control while trying to extend their own influence over one another with dogmatic rules and sexual manipulation. Ibuki's presence creates a symbolic notion of the American presence in post-war Japan, as he exercises his domination over the women who metaphorically symbolize Japan. Thus, in this micro society Suzuki delivers a cerebral perspective of the carnal sins that govern these women's existence, which extends far beyond the realm of what is tangible.Through the existence of Ibuki and the women, the cyclical concept of destruction and rebirth surfaces, as they are reaching the lowest point in their lives where the only logical direction for advancement is up. Applying this concept in a retrospective perspective to the release year of Gate of Flesh, the viewer will recognize that it coincides with the year of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. It offered the world a new glance of a once beaten, but now remerging nation, which learned from its consequences of defeat and ultimate destruction. Now some 50 years after the dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man, the Japanese society has risen out of its ashes to become an economical power nation. Nonetheless, Suzuki touches humanity as it reaches its nadir where compassion vanishes into an oblivious vortex of greed and selfishness in a time of anarchy. This artistically cerebral tale will undoubtedly generate contemplation, even though it takes the form of an exploitative B-film that seems to nourish from its heavy use of nudity.

Good

Brutal and unabashedly lusty, Suzuki's "Gate of Flesh" is unlike other B-movie cult classics with its self-consciously flashy editing and nightmarish artistic design. Disciplined by their sadistic leader, Komasa Sen (Satoko Kasai), this gang of hussies has been taught never to give away their bodies, so Ibuki's criminal pedigree and hunky air throws them all into heated conflict, as each wants to possess him. No mere exploitation flick, "Flesh" gets a lot of mileage out of its visual appeal, torrid (and twisted) love story, and stinging criticism of the Occupation.

The collector will ber rwarded by this treatment of the social and political ills facing a marginal segement of the Japanese nation.

Gate of Flesh is a film that Seijun Suzuki was told to make under his studio contract. In the hands of a normal filmmaker the film would be unforgettable at best, but under the direction of Suzuki, Gate of Flesh becomes a surreal journey in the lives of prostitutes, and post war Japanese citizens. As usual with any Suzuki film, the acting is stilted, the stories are weak, and the dialogue is predictable, but Suzuki always brings such visual flair to his films that they become something more than they really deserve to be. The sets are nice and the colors are bold, and the cinematography brings a rather interesting element to an unintersting script. Gate of Flesh is really a B-film given a stylistic treatment courtesy of Seijun Suzuki.

Gate of Flesh (Seijun Suzuki, 1964)Bad-boy director Seijun Suzuki, whose entire career seems to have involved pushing as many envelopes as possible, helped usher in the pinky era in Japanese cinema with Gate of Flesh, a period piece set just after World War II, when rationing was in effect and women who found themselves without families seem to have had no choice but to become prostitutes.Maya (Yumiko Nogawa) is one of those girls. She starts out the film as an innocent, but is very quickly adopted into a group of freelance prostitutes who live by a strict code. The opening scenes of the movie depict Maya's transformation from innocent to professional, but she never really gives up most of her idealism. Enter Shintaro (Jo Shishido), a small-time swindler injured in the murder of a G.I., who comes back to the girls' house to recuperate from his injuries. As the two of them grow closer, Maya finds herself struggling not to break the girls' one main rule: never fall in love.One does not really expect greatness from a pinky film, especially those of us who aren't old enough to have been around during Suzuki's golden age (he's still alive, and as of this decade, still directing-- Pistol Opera appeared in 2001-- but he stopped cranking out movie after movie back in the early eighties). But Gate of Flesh is something entirely different; it puts me in mind of Samuel Fuller or Nicholas Ray, but with added sex. The acting here is exquisite, and the direction is inspired (but those who are aware of Seijun Suzuki would expect nothing less). "Gorgeous" is not the correct work for Shigeyoshi Mine's soiled, smoky cinematography, but you get the idea; even with thirty-four years of film stock degradation and Criterion's well-meaning but often slightly off remastering, the sets and/or locations (I've no idea if this is a soundstage or the real thing, which in itself is mighty impressive) leap off the screen. Good stuff, this is, and definitely deserves a wider audience on this side of the Pacific than it's gotten. In a world of pinky, Gate of Flesh is a rich, vibrant blood red. ****

The DVD of this film manufactured by HB Films (murky green cover) prominently features the name of Japanese Director Noboru Tanaka. In fact, his is the only name on the cover - but he had absolutely nothing to do with the movie!When I realised this I opted to return the unwanted DVD unopened - but the seller, Rapid Media UK, expects me to pay for the postage to reclaim (some of) my money. Very shoddy all round - and I'm disappointed that Amazon UK apparently tolerates this state of affairs.

After WW II, a gang of prostitutes has their home base in the slums of Tokyo. They live in a world where the old generation of `big shots still talk big.'For them, `democracy means (having sexual intercourse with) foreigners.' These foreigners are GIs, members of the occupying forces in Japan.The main principle of the gang is `no sex for free'. If a member of the gang transgresses this rule, she will be harshly punished. The movie contains some very sadistic lashing scenes.Vision on mankindSeijun Suzuki unveils in an interview published on this DVD his view on mankind: `physiology is the strongest force and only acts through human will. We can depend on nothing but the physicality of the flesh.' The gate to the world is the gate of flesh, where you have to `rely on your own instincts'.Morality and religion, here represented by a black catholic priest, are hopeless pipedreams.Highly recommended, like other films by Seijun Suzuki's: his `manga' movie `Pistol Opera', his `ghost' movie `Princess Raccoon' (with Ziyi Zhang) and his gangster movie `Underworld Beauty'.

Noboru Tanaka made this film on an era that most Japanese would like to "sweep under the carpet" of history. The privations suffered after year 0 . The U.S. occupation from 1945. Defore their own version of the Geerman 1950s "Economic Miracle". So the 18 rating is fully justified.

One of the sweatiest films ever made.Classic