Kuroi Kawa

In a run-down area just outside an American military base, black market trade, corruption and prostitution flourish, and criminals set the tone. In the midst of these precarious living conditions, a delicate connection germinates between the well-behaved righteous student Nishida (Fumio Watanabe) and the young Shizuko (Ineko Arima), until Yakuza Joe forcibly forces her into a relationship from which she is unable to free herself. The balance of power tips over the course of Joe's birthday party, as Shizuko takes on the role of the nefarious gangster bride once, with her own agenda and with acting flying colors. The early Ninjin Club production irritates with the drastic depiction of violence against women, despite or once again because of the obvious accusation of their systematic emotional, social and material suppression in immediate post-war Japan. (mg)