| Jeans Blues: No Future (1974) |
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| Director: | Sadao Nakajima |
| Writers: | Takeo Kaneko and Sadao Nakajima |
| Starring: | Tsunehiko Watase, Meiko Kaji, and Ryôhei Uchida |
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The Plot: Hijiriko (Meiko Kaji) is hostess at a bar, Jiro (Tsunehiko Watase)nis a low-rent hood who is working with his buddies on their biggest score yet. In the same night, both of these outsiders run away from their jobs, but Jiro happens to take all of the prize money from this “big score” and now all of his old friends want him dead. So, with a laundry list of people searching for them, these two find a bond with one another and are soon enjoying their newfound riches. However, few great things are meant to last. |
| The Review |
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The movie works as well as it does because of the two very likable leads. These are two quirky outsiders, and the audience can’t help but empathize with them when looking at the greedy and gritty world that they are a part of. While these two are no simple white-hat caricatures, they at first seem to have a decency to them that makes them seem out of place. There’s no doubt that their costumes, which look as if they come from the early 20th century, play a large role in this. These outsiders don’t fit in with the world around them, and when compared to that world them they at times almost seem naive or wholesome. The movie distances our leads as further outcasts during a training sequence where Jiro (Tsunehiko Watase) practices shooting the shotgun that they steal by using the Japanese flag, which is held in a picture frame, as a target. This of course includes a closeup of the flag with a blast right through the red center, as if the viewer couldn’t get the symbolism right from the start. The retro style could also come from the obvious influence of Bonnie and Clyde, but these two come across as being more intrinsically likable. Yet, despite how endearing these characters are, they do find themselves in some true Bonnie and Clyde-esque situations. As the movie presses forward, the moral lines eventually become more blurred as our lead protagonists must do whatever is necessary to survive.
| The Conclusion |
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