By the second half of the 1960s, it was obvious that the relationship between director Seijun Suzuki and production company Nikkatsu was more than just a little strained. After years of yakuza-flicks and B-movies, Suzuki had proven with works such as “Youth of the Beast” he was fed up sticking to genre conventions as well as the rules enforced by his employer of what a certain movie has to be, what the story has to be like and essentially playing second fiddle to whatever the main feature his work was supposed to prepare the audience for. Having repeatedly violated that agreement, Suzuki was given another opportunity, resulting in “Carmen from Kawachi”, a B-movie based on themes from Georges Bizet. While the story has certain aspects following the conventions of B-movies, its style and images often transcend its origin, making it a very interesting precursor to Suzuki's “Branded to Kill”, which would mark his creative triumph and the end of his relationship with Nikkatsu.
Carmen from Kawachi is screening as part of the Seijun Suzuki Centennial. presented by Japan Society
Based on a novel by author Toko Kon, the story follows Tsuyuko Takeda (Yumiko Nogawa), a young girl living in the country with her family. As her relationship with Akira (Koji Wada) is about to blossom into something more serious, she is attacked and raped by a group of factory workers and forced to leave her hometown for Osaka. She finds work as a callgirl in a popular night club, where her beauty makes her a sensation with the customers, mostly businessmen. Eventually, one of them falls for her and, after having been fired from his company, leaves with Tsuyoko in her tiny apartment.
However, as more and more people notice her beauty, she becomes a model and love interest for many women and men alike. In the end, she even runs into Akira again, who is trying to save money for his big dream, building an onsen nearby a waterfall in their hometown. Still in love with him, Tsuyoko decides to help to get the money, with disastrous consequences for their relationship and the young woman's perspective on life and love.
On the surface, the story more or less revolves around the structure of the “girl from the country comes to the big city” formula, which we have seen multiple times. It is a narrative about morals, or more precisely, the moral corruption of the world that threatens the purity of the heroine. However, as with any of Seijun Suzuki's features, there are a few additions which set “Carmen from Kawachi” apart from this formulaic approach, which is already noticeable in the allusions to the opera or the stage. Especially in the middle, when Tsuyuko works as a model and lives with her female boss, who seeks to have her as her lover, the visual approach is strongly reminiscent of a stage play, making the actions and the dialogues often appear a bit too melodramatic and over-the-top, which incidentally works very well within the context of an opera such as “Carmen”.
As mentioned before, what could have been a melodramatic and in the end predictable affair, becomes a much more fascinating tale about corruption, and less so about purity. Actress Yumiko Nogawa emphasizes the evolution of Tsuyoka as a somewhat naive young woman to someone whose knowledge about seduction and also power becomes the cornerstone of “Carmen of Kawachi”. The independence of Bizet's heroine is mirrored by her venture into a world defined by temptation, lust and corruption, which follows the protagonist anywhere she goes and will influence her. Seiji (played by Tomio Kawaji), a co-worker at the model agency she works for, turns out to be the most influential role model in the learning process of making this system work for yourself, rather than being just another victim. In the contrast of the zeitgeist of the 1960s, a story touching upon these themes surely hit a mark and was likely much more provocative than what the producers had in mind.
In conclusion, “Carmen from Kawachi” is an interesting and eventually quite provocative drama on independence and moral corruption. Seijun Suzuki proves again his talent in transforming an otherwise formulaic narrative into something worthwhile with regard to its visuals and its performances.