Sabu made it an early career trademark to film the same movie again every year. This third rendition of an unlucky loser on the run is the worst of his first three films, an exceedingly contrived tale of a bank robber burdened by guilt and unlucky coincidences. The swift pacing of his debut Dangan Runner and the heart of his follow up feature Postman Blues are both missing from this picture which feels more like second grade copy made by a talentless imitator. One of the dumbest and annoyingly long segments sees the on-the-run protagonist holding an environmental speech at a citizen's convention after he got pushed into the building by chance. An intertwined second plot with dumb gangsters trying to deal with a dead body fairs a little better, featuring an odd bit of wit here and there, but it's all undone by the worst, most drawn-out and plain idiotic ending imaginable.
Apartment Wife: Adultery in Broad Daylight (団地妻 白昼の不倫) (Japan, 1997) [TV] – 3.5/5
I don’t usually warm up to pink marital dramas, and even less to apartment wives, but Toshiki Sato and Masahiro Kobayashi can make it work. Contrary to the title, there’s little adultery in broad daylight or otherwise in this film. Eight years into a marriage, the film’s central couple (Hotaru Hazuki and Kikujuro Honda) have merely grown apart. The introvert wife can’t even get a morning kiss from the husband, who has come to see her as a roommate. “How dull”, she says to herself. But there’s low key magic arising from that dullness. Little encounters gain monumental meanings, such as the husband energized by meeting the beautiful neighbour (Yoko Chosokabe) only in passing every morning. Meanwhile the wife heads to a bowling alley where she’s briefly instructed by a young man (Yota Kawase) who might be interested in her. There’s evident stiffness to the acting performances, but that suits the passive nature of the characters and is echoed in their dialogue. And yet in this context every single word seems to matter worlds. The best scene sees the husband and the neighbour meeting at night and concluding that they both think their spouses are probably cheating on them. And then they both freeze up, being unable to decide or articulate what next. I cannot think of another pink film where I was so interested in seeing what choices characters would end up making, and what words would come out of their mouths. Also much kudos to Sato for how skilfully he captures the era and locations on film, essentially throwing the viewer back in time to the streets and apartment buildings of 1997 Japan.
Reviewed here is the R-15 version which may, but is unlikely to, differ substantially from the original theatrical R-18 version released under the same title. There is no mosaic or noticeable cuts, but re-framing of some shots may have taken place.
