Kenjû Zankoku Monogatari
1964 / 87m - Japan
Crime
1.5*/5.0*
Cruel Gun Story poster

Plot: Togawa gets out of prison early, but despite his best intentions, he is forced back into a life of crime by a mob boss. Togawa needs to take care of his disabled sister and to earn an extra buck, the boss wants Togawa to organize a heist. Togawa assembles a couple of men, but the heist doesn't go as planned.

Watches

November 22, 2024

1.5*/5.0*

A classic Japanese crime flick. Even more so because Jô Shishido takes on the lead role. He is the epitome of Japan's 60s crime cinema, and Cruel Gun Story is probably a pretty good entry if you're interested in the genre. It's decidedly Japanese, but also shares enough common traits with its Western counterparts.

Like a lot of Western noirs, most of the film is spent on dialogues in rather dire settings. The acting is somewhat better than usual and there are a handful of decently shot action scenes, but it's not enough to make this a captivating heist film. I'm not a fan of the genre and era though, so your mileage may differ.