Jînzu burûsu: Asu naki buraiha

Tired of her boring life, Seiko makes off with the money taken from the hostess bar she works at. Scheamer Jiro steals a large sum of money from a Yakuza and runs off. The two misfits are brought together by fate and hit it off right away, what with their mutual loathing of authority. Rich and on the run the two embark on an impulse road trip which takes them to Kyoto and beyond, their trip takes a turn for the worse when Jiro looses all the money and on top of that the Yakuza and Police are hot on their tail. Desperate and car-less they stowaway on a Container train and get transported to the country side with no cash to their name the Seiko kill's a hunter and uses his shot gun to go on a murderous robbing spree in true Bonnie and Clyde fashion, but soon their past and the law catch up with them and their exciting and romantic interlude is destroyed forever. Highly enjoyable film with great performances from the whole cast.

Jeans Blue: No Future, recently released on disc by Discotek, is an enjoyable crime film from Japan starring Meiko Kaji.

The plot has a lowly criminal making off with five million yen from his partners who wanted to kill him rather than share the loot. This criminal, Jiro, is pretty much on the bottom of the criminal hierarchy and is more braggart than thug. Fleeing his partners, Jiro runs his (stolen) car into the (stolen) car being driven by Hijiriko (Kaji), a bartender that has made off with her boss's evening take. She goes off with Jiro because she is bored, simple as that. In pursuit are Jiro's former partners, who are only slightly more professional than Jiro. The film's final third goes into Bonnie and Clyde territory, as Jiro and Hijiriko turn to armed robbery after losing Jiro's loot.

While not exactly action packed, Jeans Blue: No Future moves along at a study pace, keeps the viewer interested, and turns brutal (and grim) in the final third. The film also gets a boost from Meiko Kaji, who brings a certain style or attitude to the film. Viewers not taken with Meiko Kaji nor all that interested in Japanese crime films may not like the film as much as I did, but I was certainly entertained. The Blu-ray looks nice as well.

Jeans Blue: No Future may be one of the lesser known Pinky Violence flicks (that in spite of the fact that it stars Female Prisoner Scorpion star Meiko Kaji), but that doesn't mean its one of the lesser ones as this story of crime and deceit is not short on violence and manages to be entertaining from start to finish! The story is something of a departure from the usual Pinky plot line as we focus on a pair of criminals on the run. Hijiriko makes off from the bar she works at with money and a car that isn't hers. Meanwhile, Jiro Katagiri is up to no good with his gangster friends and ends up making off with all their ill-gotten gains, much to their disapproval. The two misfits end up meeting after a car crash and soon end up on the road together in (another) stolen car. It's not long before the police take an interest in the crimes, and of course the gangsters are hot on Jiri's heels; meaning the two must scarper across Japan by any means necessary.

Director Sadao Nakajima gives the film a breezy pace and this is kept up well for the duration. The opening of the film is violent and bloody and while it never quite reaches this high again; there's still plenty of over the top splatter. The most interesting element of the film stems from the relationship between the two central characters. The director was possibly aiming to cash in on the success of the Female Prisoner Scorpion series a little with Meiko Kaji's character; who is her usual frosty self. She is offset well by Tsunehiko Watase's 'Jack the lad' character and the pair makes for an interesting central duo. There's always plenty going on with regards to the plot and the film hardly stands still for a second, which is very much to its credit. It all boils down to a frenzied and bloody, but also rather tragic ending that rounds things off nicely. Overall, this is certainly an excellent little Pinky Violence and while it's not the easiest one to find, it's certainly worth the effort.

A genuine Japanese flick that feels like a cheap imitation from Hong Kong. Uninspired story -- "Bonnie and Clyde" without believable attraction between the heroes and without the social background. Add terrible too-directly illustrative music, very bad stunts-men who somersault too early, totally unrealistic gunshots and one really wonders how they found these all in the country of good craftsmanship! Sex scenes that are very mild by pinku standards but unpleasant nonetheless, like a rape endured apathetically without any fighting. But the worst is the acting, wooden from the part of the beautiful Meiko Kaji (she improves a little in the last ten minutes) and terribly overshot from all the others.

Two stars because there is 1970s coolness factor (cars and clothing) and because you can imagine Tarantino recycling his memories of this movie into something actually good. But you can find these in much better Japanese films of the era.