Sailor Suit and Machine Gun

Summary

Arrow Video has proven since the label began to be one of the best distributors of niche Japanese cinema. I grew up watching Kurosawa films and whatever violent Japanese films I could get my hands on at the local video store as a kid, so I still have an affinity for watching notable films imported from Japan. Japanese films were actually what led me to discover Arrow Video years ago. Arrow has released an impressive variety of films from that country that range from Yakuza pictures, to Takashi Miike films, to classic Toei monster films, to J-horror films. Their Japanese film library is arguably second only to Criterion Collection’s library of Japanese cinema. I had received a copy of Arrow’s recent release of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun to check out, and the other night I was in the mood for some Japanese cinema (particularly from the Eighties) so I decided to watch it.

As the film begins, a car is driven frantically towards a house. Inside the car is a yakuza and a physician. Arriving at a house, they run inside to help the dying man waiting on their arrival. The yakuza finds out that he has accidentally kidnapped a physician from an animal hospital – a veterinarian. The boss leans forward and tells the men that the next chairman should be his nephew. Then he passes away. In Tokyo, schoolgirl Izumi (Hiroko Yakushimaru) has just received news that her father has been involved in an accident coming from the airport and has perished. She tells her friends that she has chosen not to inform her relatives and is now an orphan on her own. She plans to chart her own course in life. One day, a woman named Mayumi (Yuki Kazmatsuri) arrives at her door with a note from Izumi’s dead father. The note tells Izumi that Mayumi should live with her and help her to understand more about life. Izumi is taken aback by this woman. Was this her father’s mistress? She lets Mayumi stay with her and they develop a friendship (with some trust issues.) When Izumi goes to school one day, a large group of yakuza line up on the street near the school. Unfettered, she walks towards the large group of yakuza while the rest of the school hangs back. Izumi is placed in a car by four yakuza. The men explain that they are the last of the Medaka clan of yakuza. When her father had passed away, she had become the chairman of the Medaka clan. Izumi tells them that she is not interested in the job. The men drink sake and prepare to disband the Medaka clan permanently by performing a suicidal raid on a much larger clan. Izumi reluctantly accepts the position as their boss in order to save them from certain suicide. The rest of the film follows her exploits as she attempts to navigate her new life as the head of a small dedicated group of yakuza.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is a truly original film from director Shinji Somai that defies easy characterization. Based on a novel by Jiro Akagawa, the film was produced by Kadokawa films. The film is in some ways an idol film because it stars the appealing Hiroko Yakushimaru in the lead role. The song she sings for the film was a big success in Japan. The film and song were packaged together as was common with other idol films in Japan. That said, the film is far too strange to be considered an idol film in substance. The film takes place in the yakuza world and the plot borrows heavily from yakuza plots, but it definitely does not feel like a yakuza film. The film is somewhat of a dramedy, alternating between light comedy and coming-of-age drama which is punctuated by the deaths of key characters as the film progresses. All of these genres are intertwined together with director Shinji Somai allowing the film to move at a slowed pace at times which makes the film feel strangely hypnotic. There are some truly amazing long-take sequences in the film that predate by decades the long-take movement that has become more prevalent these days amongst filmmakers. One such sequence is really impressive as it glides from a conversation near a statue between friends and finishes with an extended motorcycle ride. All of this sequence had to be perfectly timed in order for the sequence to flow properly.  Somai’s strange pacing makes the film occasionally feel a little flat or dull, but it also makes the film feel different from what one might expect. Somai’s technique with his actors called for them to rehearse things up to a hundred times before finally filming, which allows for the director to experiment with how long the sequences can go and with some interesting camera angles. Somai clearly had a vision for what he wanted this film to be, and by following his own vision and not playing by any established rules, he created something interesting. I can’t say his vision is without flaws, but I also don’t know that I would be the best judge of that since the choices made in the film all feel deliberate.

When it comes to whether or not to recommend watching Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, I feel like it is a difficult film to recommend only because it is so hard to categorize. I would not recommend this film to someone that does not study films as a hobby. This is not a film that feels like it was created with a wide audience in mind, but the film actually was very successful in Japan. It is considered to be fairly influential as well. I enjoyed watching Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, although I am not sure that it would be a movie that I would revisit.

Video

Arrow gave the technical specs in their booklet:

“Both versions of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun are presented in the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with original mono audio, plus a remixed 5.1 soundtrack for the Theatrical Version. The High Definition masters were produced and supplied by Kadokowa, with additional grading and restoration by Arrow Films at R3Store Studios. An instance of optical censorship occurs during the sex scene at the 61 minute mark. This is present in the original materials and is consistent with Japanese censorship practices from the period.”

Arrow’s release features a good looking transfer. Kodakawa’s provided scan looks healthy. Fine detail is for the most part pretty good and the layer of grains is well resolved and filmic. There are occasional specs or marks on the film, but very few noticeable issues. Like many films of its time, the cameras used create some softer looking imagery. This is not any issue with the transfer, but with filming techniques at that time. The colors look true to the source and I can’t imagine a fan of the film being disappointed by this release.

Audio

Similar to the video, the audio has been restored well. Arrow has provided an LPCM 2.0 track that is true to the original sound design, and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that widens the scope of the music and makes the film slightly more immersive. The tracks both have been cleaned up well and sounded good on my surround system.

Supplements:

• Original Theatrical Version  (1:51:45) and Extended Director’s Cut (2:10:27)
• Girls, Guns and Gangsters: Shinji Somai and Sailor Suit and Machine Gun – this new piece from film scholar Jasper Sharp features interviews with actor and frequent collaborator Akira Emoto, film scholar Chika Kinoshita, Somai biographer Tatsuya Kimura and assistant director Koji Enomoto who worked with Somai fro twenty six years. This is a well made piece that discusses the work of Somai and his impact on Japanese cinema along with a good discussion of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun. 
• Trailers and TV Spots
• Image Gallery
• Original Press Kit

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is a completely offbeat and original film. The plot is ridiculous, but the film is strangely hypnotic. Shinji Somai showed off a strong talent for filming extensive long-take sequences in the film. I am definitely curious to see more films from this director in the future. This is a case where the film borrows elements from several genres (idol films, yakuza pictures, crime films, feminine coming-of-age films, drama, comedy) yet never allows itself to be easily categorized. I am glad I watched the picture, but I also find it somewhat difficult to fully recommend given how hard it is to categorize. I would recommend renting the film prior to a purchase. For fans of the film, the Arrow Video Blu-ray looks and sounds very nice and the supplements are enjoyable (especially the excellent documentary by Jasper Sharp.)