12-23-2016, 06:24 PM
You know, there's been way too much red in my viewing of late. That damned red Nisson Rogue. The Big Red One. Red Desert by Antonioni. A documentary on Michael Powell (haven't reviewed it; sorry) that dwelled on The Red Shoes. And now there's Christmas staring us all dumb in all its redness. I really need a break from red.
Which is why, last night, I chose to watch The Crimson Kimono. This film noire from Fuller touches on racism in an odd way, much of it taking place in the Little Tokyo district of LA. Two cops -- one white, the other Japanese-American -- investigate the murder of a Caucasian stripper preparing a new act that would feature a crimson kimono. Setting aside the fact that in today's world she'd be on Death Row for cultural appropriation, the story proceeds as if she's the unfortunate victim.
Things heat up when the two cops both fall in love with a Caucasian lady artist, and it turns out she loves the Japanese cop, not Mr. White Guy. It's a very interesting take on the love triangle, and it gets mirrored by other circumstances as the investigation proceeds.
Robert and David Carradine appear in a minor role as a two-headed mutant, product of the Hiroshima bombing, and I should probably end this review now, having lost all credibility. But you know I won't.
This is a wonderful film for Japanese actors and Japanese extras. It features over 100 of them by my estimate, what with the street parades with kimono-clad ladies and lots of men, and some dojo scenes with master and students, an Odd Job lookalike demonstrating board-breaking (as well as board failing to break, as one sees when they move into the distant background and you're not supposed to be paying attention to them anymore but of course I am), Japanese kendo practice and a climactic kendo match between the two cops. All in all, a wonderful introduction to Japanese culture in the US, showing that, well, you know, they're human too.
I doubt the Japanese actors and extras got much pay, because Fuller is a tightwad. Okay, that's probably not true. I doubt Fuller made much off this himself. A very respectable entry in his portfolio of film. Catch it before it vanishes from the theaters.
Which is why, last night, I chose to watch The Crimson Kimono. This film noire from Fuller touches on racism in an odd way, much of it taking place in the Little Tokyo district of LA. Two cops -- one white, the other Japanese-American -- investigate the murder of a Caucasian stripper preparing a new act that would feature a crimson kimono. Setting aside the fact that in today's world she'd be on Death Row for cultural appropriation, the story proceeds as if she's the unfortunate victim.
Things heat up when the two cops both fall in love with a Caucasian lady artist, and it turns out she loves the Japanese cop, not Mr. White Guy. It's a very interesting take on the love triangle, and it gets mirrored by other circumstances as the investigation proceeds.
Robert and David Carradine appear in a minor role as a two-headed mutant, product of the Hiroshima bombing, and I should probably end this review now, having lost all credibility. But you know I won't.
This is a wonderful film for Japanese actors and Japanese extras. It features over 100 of them by my estimate, what with the street parades with kimono-clad ladies and lots of men, and some dojo scenes with master and students, an Odd Job lookalike demonstrating board-breaking (as well as board failing to break, as one sees when they move into the distant background and you're not supposed to be paying attention to them anymore but of course I am), Japanese kendo practice and a climactic kendo match between the two cops. All in all, a wonderful introduction to Japanese culture in the US, showing that, well, you know, they're human too.
I doubt the Japanese actors and extras got much pay, because Fuller is a tightwad. Okay, that's probably not true. I doubt Fuller made much off this himself. A very respectable entry in his portfolio of film. Catch it before it vanishes from the theaters.
I'm nobody's pony.