In a society governed by the tyranny and greed of the mob, the police don't do anything nor want to do anything.
Then the best thing is leave the dirty work to a detective, but one who's as tough, cunning and brave as Hideo Tajima.
1.963 becomes a new period for Seijun Suzuki, who has spent six years working at a frantic pace for his company, Nikkatsu, enduring limitations and poor budgets. He's well-adapted to teen melodramas and his wit stands out in the exotic "borderless action films", especially in "noir". When the previous year ends with the nerveless "Ore ni Kaketa Yatsura", the producer, who wants to turn Jo Shishido into an action star, prepares his jump and Suzuki, with whom he worked as a support actor (he never wanted to give him a leading role...), has to take care of it; this event marks a series of collaborations between both that will conclude in the memorable "Branded to Kill". Iwao Yamazaki adapts a novel written by Haruhiko Oyabu, specialized in criminal and detective stories, and the result seems to be infallible.
In the line of exoticism and desire to adopt the american imagery of that kind of "exploitation" cinema that Nikkatsu carried out, the beginning of "Tantei Jimusho 2-3" cannot follow this trend with more determination. A black man silently watches in an American base two yakuza gangs (some of them shooting from a Pepsi-Cola truck) fighting over a cache of weapons; shots, explosions and a "pop jazz" soundtrack set the tone for this film, which introduces us to the adventures of Tajima, a detective in the tradition of "hard-boiled" anti-heroes, to unmask the yakuzas who have stolen the weapons. Suzuki has already dealt with these characters, but now he adds a note of absurd humor, and that in addition to the self-confidence and swagger of the main character, is given by the intervention of supposedly cartoonish secondary characters (such as Tajima's assistants, come from a comic). Far from being a handicap, the filmmaker balances it perfectly with the violence, intrigue and action of the plot, which starts after the arrest of the young Manabe, a member of the organization that has stolen the weapons and is threatened by other yakuza gangs.
The sequence where we see all the savage gangsters in front of the police station waiting for Manabe is a clear example of Suzuki's technique skills. Tajima takes advantage of the situation, and interferes, saving the boy's life with the help of Inspector Kumagai to work as undercover on his group and recover the weapons...and taking a good sum of money, since opportunism and deception guide the story; together with the detective we immerse ourselves in an atmosphere violent and dark, suggestive and exotic, according to the director's vision, who begins to bet on visual and aesthetic risk instead of obey the traditions of the genre. He would break'em very soon, but there's a taste for the strangely enthralling and "avant-garde", always inspired by european and american cinema. While Tajima tries to avoid being unmasked, we can see the police (here showed in a pathetic and incompetent way) involving in any side of society, and melodrama comes through the intervention of Chiaki, the girl of chief Hatano; inevitably this tragic character will conquer the heart of the tough and cynical detective (although nothing matters for the plot), who strives to stand out whenever he can, either by facing villains or seducing women.
John Carr, Elmore Leonard and Don Siegel mix with Umetsugu Inoue, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard and the James Bond universe, and the final cocktail is fun, fast-paced and exciting, 'cause Suzuki knows something: combine the pure entertainment with the charm of its characters, which oscillates between cliche and the comically grotesque; at the end "Tantei Jimusho 2-3" is a "noir fiction" pocket edition and aims to move quickly between lies, betrayals and fatal romances while the director takes a look at japanese society of the moment, tainted with the enthusiasm of youth, that adopts the american models (the sequence in the disco exemplifies it). The tart and carefree essence of Oyabu's text is perfectly captured. Shishido, who operated his cheekbones to have a more star appearance, surprises with his vitality in a role that seems entirely a parody of the Hammett's Continental Op, showing he has a talent for action and spectacle (unforgettable when we see him dancing in the club with Naomi Hoshi); his character and physical energy will be his hallmark. He's supported by Nobuo Kaneko, the great Kinzo Shin, Tamio Kawaji (again as an obnoxious asshole) and the beautiful Reiko Sasamori.
The success of the film, where stands out the Takeharu Sakaguchi's talent in artistic design, was really big that soon after Nozomu Yanase would direct a sequel, and gave Suzuki the definitive lead actor for his "thrillers", being "Youth of the Beast" (the next project also based on an Oyabu's novel, with a very similar plot) the best example of this union. This would be the turning point in the director's career, as he would begin to risk much more in his style and aesthetics, which didn't please the Nikkatsu executives at all ...
1.963 becomes a new period for Seijun Suzuki, who has spent six years working at a frantic pace for his company, Nikkatsu, enduring limitations and poor budgets. He's well-adapted to teen melodramas and his wit stands out in the exotic "borderless action films", especially in "noir". When the previous year ends with the nerveless "Ore ni Kaketa Yatsura", the producer, who wants to turn Jo Shishido into an action star, prepares his jump and Suzuki, with whom he worked as a support actor (he never wanted to give him a leading role...), has to take care of it; this event marks a series of collaborations between both that will conclude in the memorable "Branded to Kill". Iwao Yamazaki adapts a novel written by Haruhiko Oyabu, specialized in criminal and detective stories, and the result seems to be infallible.
In the line of exoticism and desire to adopt the american imagery of that kind of "exploitation" cinema that Nikkatsu carried out, the beginning of "Tantei Jimusho 2-3" cannot follow this trend with more determination. A black man silently watches in an American base two yakuza gangs (some of them shooting from a Pepsi-Cola truck) fighting over a cache of weapons; shots, explosions and a "pop jazz" soundtrack set the tone for this film, which introduces us to the adventures of Tajima, a detective in the tradition of "hard-boiled" anti-heroes, to unmask the yakuzas who have stolen the weapons. Suzuki has already dealt with these characters, but now he adds a note of absurd humor, and that in addition to the self-confidence and swagger of the main character, is given by the intervention of supposedly cartoonish secondary characters (such as Tajima's assistants, come from a comic). Far from being a handicap, the filmmaker balances it perfectly with the violence, intrigue and action of the plot, which starts after the arrest of the young Manabe, a member of the organization that has stolen the weapons and is threatened by other yakuza gangs.
The sequence where we see all the savage gangsters in front of the police station waiting for Manabe is a clear example of Suzuki's technique skills. Tajima takes advantage of the situation, and interferes, saving the boy's life with the help of Inspector Kumagai to work as undercover on his group and recover the weapons...and taking a good sum of money, since opportunism and deception guide the story; together with the detective we immerse ourselves in an atmosphere violent and dark, suggestive and exotic, according to the director's vision, who begins to bet on visual and aesthetic risk instead of obey the traditions of the genre. He would break'em very soon, but there's a taste for the strangely enthralling and "avant-garde", always inspired by european and american cinema. While Tajima tries to avoid being unmasked, we can see the police (here showed in a pathetic and incompetent way) involving in any side of society, and melodrama comes through the intervention of Chiaki, the girl of chief Hatano; inevitably this tragic character will conquer the heart of the tough and cynical detective (although nothing matters for the plot), who strives to stand out whenever he can, either by facing villains or seducing women.
John Carr, Elmore Leonard and Don Siegel mix with Umetsugu Inoue, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard and the James Bond universe, and the final cocktail is fun, fast-paced and exciting, 'cause Suzuki knows something: combine the pure entertainment with the charm of its characters, which oscillates between cliche and the comically grotesque; at the end "Tantei Jimusho 2-3" is a "noir fiction" pocket edition and aims to move quickly between lies, betrayals and fatal romances while the director takes a look at japanese society of the moment, tainted with the enthusiasm of youth, that adopts the american models (the sequence in the disco exemplifies it). The tart and carefree essence of Oyabu's text is perfectly captured. Shishido, who operated his cheekbones to have a more star appearance, surprises with his vitality in a role that seems entirely a parody of the Hammett's Continental Op, showing he has a talent for action and spectacle (unforgettable when we see him dancing in the club with Naomi Hoshi); his character and physical energy will be his hallmark. He's supported by Nobuo Kaneko, the great Kinzo Shin, Tamio Kawaji (again as an obnoxious asshole) and the beautiful Reiko Sasamori.
The success of the film, where stands out the Takeharu Sakaguchi's talent in artistic design, was really big that soon after Nozomu Yanase would direct a sequel, and gave Suzuki the definitive lead actor for his "thrillers", being "Youth of the Beast" (the next project also based on an Oyabu's novel, with a very similar plot) the best example of this union. This would be the turning point in the director's career, as he would begin to risk much more in his style and aesthetics, which didn't please the Nikkatsu executives at all ...