• 狼と豚と人間 (Wolves, Pigs and Men)

11/1/24 (Fri), Ginza

Fukasaku Kinji’s stellar 1964 work was being shown at the Tokyo Film Festival in a pristine copy in honor of what would have been its star Takakura Ken’s 100th birthday. A violent, relentlessly driving film about three low-life brothers from the slums who become involved on different sides of a dangerous scheme that could be their salvation – or their death warrant. Ichiro abandoned his struggling family ten years earlier to join the yakuza and has managed to climb the ranks. Jiro bolted as well five years later, stealing the mother’s money in the process, only to be sacrificed by his elder brother’s gang to the police and five years in prison when a scheme backfires. Sabu, the youngest, has been left behind alone at home to care for the mother, who has died when the film opens. (Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo mean respectively First , Second and Third Son, making the relationship clear from the beginning.) 

Sabu is transporting his mother’s coffin when he comes across Jiro, just released from prison. Sabu sneers at Jiro for abandoning him and drives away. He then delivers the ashes to Ichiro in the fancy new club the latter now manages. Ichiro, who wasn’t even aware of his mom’s death, gives his brother money and shoos him away, telling him to use the cash for a proper burial. Ichiro is then warned by his boss that Jiro is out of prison and needs to be kept at a safe distance. Sabu, meanwhile, throws the box of ashes into the ocean and uses the money to party with his friends.

Jiro comes up with a risky plan to steal a colossal stash of money and drugs from other crooks – who, it turns out, are part of Ichiro’s gang. Jiro, in partnership with a sleazy friend, recruits the aimless Sabu and his friends to do the dirty work for a pittance. The plan succeeds, but when Sabu discovers that he and his group are being ripped off, he hides the loot in anger. Jiro comes to the hideout to get the stash, intending to betray everyone, and his partner comes shortly afterwards to do the same. Sabu, however, refuses to tell them where the money is. He is beaten mercilessly but does not give in, knowing that they need him alive in order to find the money. They then turn to torturing his friends instead, hoping to shame Sabu into cooperating when he hears the screams. At the same time, Ichiro’s gang finds out what has happened and order him to straighten things out. The results are not pretty.

The film is a sharp psychological study of the brothers: the ambitious elder brother (wolf) who works his way methodically to the upper echelons of an established gang, the get-rich-quick middle brother (pig) whose greed trumps his scruples to anyone but himself, and the youngest brother (human) who, cast aside by his siblings, shows the only semblance of humanity through his fierce loyalty to his friends. An astute reviewer noted the difference in their clothing as a symbol of where they stood in society. That is, even with the beatings, torture, rapes, shootings and general brutality, the film offers sly social commentary, an innovative approach for films of this ilk.

The nihilistic cool of the film notwithstanding, the script was dense and riveting, the characters and story utterly credible even with all the twists and betrayals, and the dialogue at a very high order. The background info on Jiro’s imprisonment was delivered efficiently in visually striking manner via brief silent snatches during the opening credits. The movie’s highlight was the robbery perfectly engineered by Jiro, filmed in crowded Shibuya Station among unsuspecting commuters. But there were no low points in a consistently exciting work. The only questionable scene was the finger-snapping singing by the boys amid the ruins, which felt like a bad imitation of West Side Story (a recent hit at the time in Japan). They redeemed themselves immediately by chasing down stray dogs, beating them to death, and eating them for dinner. After that, the film didn’t set a gruesome foot wrong.

The director had a field day with unsparing close-ups, odd camera angles, and dynamic handheld camerawork. While I presume the slum was an actual location, this was not the reality for most viewers: the film was made the same year as the Tokyo Olympics, a time of robust growth and buoyant optimism for the entire nation. It’s surprising to see such a dark take at this time.

Takakura Ken (Jiro) and Mikuni Rentaro (Ichiro) were flawless, but the standout was a very young Kitaoji Kinya (Sabu), who easily matched his older colleagues with an intense, committed performance. They were surrounded by able actors and actresses (including Ishibashi Renji as one of Sabu’s buddies in his film debut), but the film unquestionably belonged to them. Fukasaku went on to bigger successes, including Battles Without Honor and Battle Royale, but this film is right up there with the best. I’m already eager to see it again.