UNDERWORLD BEAUTY (Seijun Suzuki, 1958, Japan)

 

Miyamoto’s soul is a lump of coal, forged in fire and extreme pressures to produce an adamant morality. Seijun Suzuki’s early Yakuza film not only mimics classic noir tropes but surpasses many of them! DP Wataro Nakao uses wonderful Neo-expressionist compositions, close-ups, low-key lighting effects, and long shadows to elevate this simple plot above its mundane genesis. Nakao and Suzuki must have studied Robert Krasker and specifically his work on ODD MAN OUT and THE THIRD MAN. This is also reflective of Kubrick’s wonderful camerawork on KILLER’S KISS. On paper, this rather straightforward tale may seem trite and unctuous, but this is style over substance and foreshadows Suzuki’s genius! 

The film begins with a mysterious shadowy figure descending into the sewers (literally the underworld) to remove another brick in the wall, which hides his stash: a triptych of diamonds and a Colt. 45. We soon learn this is Miyamoto (Michitaro Mizushima), a Yakuza recently paroled after three years for a robbery gone awry. Seems his buddy Mihara (Toru Abe) took a bullet in the leg for him during this escapade and now crippled, runs a lowly food stand in a run-down portion of the city. But Mihara’s sister Akiko (Mari Shiraki) is an elemental force of chaos and sexuality, in love with a cerebral artist and gangster who seems more interested in studying than fucking (to her chagrin). Into this nexus comes three diamonds and plenty of violence as Miyamoto tries to balance his moral ledger by giving all of the proceeds of the stolen gems to his former partner. Unfortunately, double and triple crosses ensue and Mihara swallows his future before jumping to his death! 

Suzuki subverts tropes in never exploring a love story between the middle-aged protagonist and the sultry femme sexual, as their relationship remains pugnacious. Miyamoto’s goal is to see that Akiko gets her brother’s money so she can have a better life, but Suzuki even turns this plot point upside down in the third act! We get Akiko nude modeling for her boyfriend who sculpts mannequins, and Nakao films her often in her bra and underwear. This is the same wonderful boyfriend who secretly cuts her brother’s corpse open to retrieve the diamonds! Then there’s hidden gems gouged into a mannequin’s breast, shootouts in a basement of erupting boilers spurting steam like an orgasm, a detective/parole officer who stalks Miyamoto to keep him on the straight and narrow, and psychotic Yakuza with a machine-gun etiquette. Suzuki even sabotages our expectations in the final act as the diamonds burn like coal (yes, diamonds burn at high temperatures) with Miyamoto on his way back to prison and Akiko without financial security. Both still trapped like two birds in a cage. 

Final Grade: (B+)