I had no idea what to expect going into GATE OF FLESH. It's yet another in a long line of discs that I've had lying around for ages that I acquired several years back in my film- trading days. From the title I was expecting some sort of Euro art-house porn-what I got was something entirely different...
The storyline revolves around a group of hookers in post WWII Japan-where thieving, prostitution, black-markets, and overall abject poverty are the order of the day. The film is basically a snapshot of the women's lives and life in their little shantytown in general. Once the audience is brought up to speed on the women and their daily routines-a monkey-wrench is thrown into the mix, in the way of Shin-an ex-Japanese military man who invades their domain and becomes an object of admiration (and lust) to the hookers. The actual story of the film hits it's stride when Shin's involvement with the women begins to cause derision amongst them...
Although there doesn't seem to be many such films-I've always enjoyed the few that i've seen that mix true historical subject-matter with an exploitation-film style. Excluding more campy films that might fall into this genre (like pretty much the entire Nazisploit sub- genre...) the only others that readily come to mind were from Chinese director T. F. Mou with his films LOST SOULS, MEN BEHIND THE SUN, and THE NANKING MASSACRE. Though not nearly as blatantly exploitative as the aforementioned-GATE OF FLESH has a similar 'vibe'. There's obviously an air of authenticity that is felt throughout the film (the cramped, sweaty environments and layer of grime that literally seemed to coat the film), but the material is also handled in a somewhat off-hand way that was sure to also come off as 'shocking' to audiences at the time. I also found GATE OF FLESH to be an interesting, precursory look at what was soon to come of the actual pinku genre, once it hit in Japan a few years later. Although definitely not a pink-film by definition-most of the trappings were there-just not as blatantly and full-on exploitative as they would become in later films. I also am a sucker for a down-beat ending-and this one delivers on that front as well. The cinematography, sets, and acting are all very solid for what is obviously a low-budget film, even for it's time. Overall, I would say that this film may not necessarily be 'enjoyable' so to speak-but it's definitely an interesting and well-made look into both the subject-matter that it portrays, and the early roots of Japanese exploitation cinema in general. I will warn the sleaze-heads out there though-if you're looking for the typical nudity and rape-fueled type of film that we all know and love-you'll definitely be disappointed. Although the way it's shot is cleverly done-there is no actual female nudity in this one. In fact-the only nudity we do get is a bit of man-ass. A shame- I would've rated it a little higher had we seen some goods-but I'll forgive that as much as I can given the 1964 time-stamp. Regardless-a solid film that I'd recommend for fans of this era of Japanese film-making. 7.5/10
The storyline revolves around a group of hookers in post WWII Japan-where thieving, prostitution, black-markets, and overall abject poverty are the order of the day. The film is basically a snapshot of the women's lives and life in their little shantytown in general. Once the audience is brought up to speed on the women and their daily routines-a monkey-wrench is thrown into the mix, in the way of Shin-an ex-Japanese military man who invades their domain and becomes an object of admiration (and lust) to the hookers. The actual story of the film hits it's stride when Shin's involvement with the women begins to cause derision amongst them...
Although there doesn't seem to be many such films-I've always enjoyed the few that i've seen that mix true historical subject-matter with an exploitation-film style. Excluding more campy films that might fall into this genre (like pretty much the entire Nazisploit sub- genre...) the only others that readily come to mind were from Chinese director T. F. Mou with his films LOST SOULS, MEN BEHIND THE SUN, and THE NANKING MASSACRE. Though not nearly as blatantly exploitative as the aforementioned-GATE OF FLESH has a similar 'vibe'. There's obviously an air of authenticity that is felt throughout the film (the cramped, sweaty environments and layer of grime that literally seemed to coat the film), but the material is also handled in a somewhat off-hand way that was sure to also come off as 'shocking' to audiences at the time. I also found GATE OF FLESH to be an interesting, precursory look at what was soon to come of the actual pinku genre, once it hit in Japan a few years later. Although definitely not a pink-film by definition-most of the trappings were there-just not as blatantly and full-on exploitative as they would become in later films. I also am a sucker for a down-beat ending-and this one delivers on that front as well. The cinematography, sets, and acting are all very solid for what is obviously a low-budget film, even for it's time. Overall, I would say that this film may not necessarily be 'enjoyable' so to speak-but it's definitely an interesting and well-made look into both the subject-matter that it portrays, and the early roots of Japanese exploitation cinema in general. I will warn the sleaze-heads out there though-if you're looking for the typical nudity and rape-fueled type of film that we all know and love-you'll definitely be disappointed. Although the way it's shot is cleverly done-there is no actual female nudity in this one. In fact-the only nudity we do get is a bit of man-ass. A shame- I would've rated it a little higher had we seen some goods-but I'll forgive that as much as I can given the 1964 time-stamp. Regardless-a solid film that I'd recommend for fans of this era of Japanese film-making. 7.5/10