On this edition of Media Monday we finally look at the fourth installment in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series. "Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril". Since it has taken me so long to get this up let's get right to it.
"Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cari in Peril" was released in November, 1972 just a few months after the previous installment. Tomisaburo Wakayama returns as Ogami Itto and Akihiro Tomikawa once again plays his son Ogami Daigoro. One of the major changes this time around was Buichi Saito replacing Kenji Misumi as director. Kenji Misumi had directed the first three films and I feel that this movie suffers without him. That is not to say that it is bad, it is just one of the weaker films in the series. One other change was Tatsuo Endo replacing Tokio Oki as Retsudo Yagyu.
Blood, Swords, and Tattoos she might as well be a Suicide Girl.
The movie open with a new character. A bare breasted woman covered in tattoos. This woman, who is in the middle of a bloody battle, is Oyuki. Oyuki kills three men in a brutal exchange. At the end of the scene we see her nude from the waist up, covered in blood, and tattoos. It is obvious that she is not to be taken lightly.
We quickly move from Oyuki to Itto. He is seen accepting a mission from an unnamed woman. It is a short scene that transitions into a series of flashbacks. It is at this point that the major difference in directing style between Kenji Misumi and Buichi Saito is shown. Buichi Saito, for some reason, uses much more music than in the previous movies. The first three films used music sparingly and it worked. Here the music seems out of place and over bearing. It is not the worst change from the previous films but is disconcerting.
Once the music ends we see Itto talking to a tattoo artist. He speaks first about the meaning of tattoos. Then he tells Itto about the woman from earlier. He does not know her name or what her face looked like. What he does know is that her skin was smooth and she had an elegant manner. He also tells Itto about the tattoos. The woman wanted something that would be frightening. She chose a mountain witch on her back and the witch's child on her front clutching her breast. This may be a call back to the breast feeding/maternal themes from the first movie.
As the conversation comes to an end we get out first glimpse of Daigoro. He is sitting outside the tattoo parlor waiting for his father. He is attracted to a street performance which he watches with avid curiosity. He ends up following the performers and gets lost. He attempts to make his way back to the tattoo parlor but is scared off by a group of men with gongs. These men, we can assume, are Yagyu assassins. Daigaro hides from them and inadvertently hides from his father. Unsure of where to go or what to do Daigoro runs farther and farther away from town. He ends up taking shelter in a shrine.
He may be cold bu at least he doesn't have to listen to that stupid song.
Once again the music kicks in. This time it is a song, being sung by children, about Daigoro being lost. It is unnecessary and takes me right out of the film. What is worse is the the song is followed by a even more unnecessary narrator. It is the second, and much worse, change from the previous films.
The eyes of a fighter are good but the Eye of the Tiger is better.
Thankfully the narration is washed away with a cool scene of Daigaro being bad ass. He walks into another shrine only to find that he is not alone. There is a man, a warrior, praying in the shrine. As Daigoro enters the man attacks him, stopping his blade at the last second. The warrior notices that Daigoro has the eyes of a fighter.
The man decides to follow Daigoro and watches as he gets caught in a field being engulfed by fire. The warrior watches with interest. He sees this as a way to test Daigoro. Daigoro does not cry or yell for help. He acts as his father would.
Daigoro is found by some farmers after the fire burns out. He dug himself into the mud and covered himself with a straw mat. He is unharmed but weak. The farmers try to rush him to help only to be stopped by the warrior. He now knows that Daigoro is a true fighter and decides to fight him. A monk tries to intervene but is quickly dispatched. Faced with the prospect of having to fight the warrior Daigoro stands firm and holds a stick in front of him like a sword.
Bring it!
The warrior recognizes the way Daigoro holds the stick. He knows he is the son of Ogami Itto. Itto just happens to show up at this moment and identifies the warrior as Gunbei Yagyu. From here we go to a flash back of the two men fighting for the role of Kaishakunin or official executioner of the shogunate. This information is relayed to us by the narrator in an unapologetic exposition dump.
Winner gets to behead people!
During the fight Gunbei disarms Itto but ends up pointing his sword at the shogun. In doing so Gunbei loses the chance to be kaishakunin. He is reprimanded by his father Retsudo Yagyu and told he must change his appearance and pretend to be dead. To help a facilitate this a man who can change his face is called forth. He changes his face to match Gunbei's and commits sepuku.
Itto fights dirty.
As the flashback ends we return to find Gunbei and Itto squaring off against each other. At first Itto finds himself outmatched. He is once again disarmed but is able to return the favor by using the hidden weapons from the baby cart. He leaves Gunbei one arm lighter and asking for death. Itto refuses to kill him because Gunbei has died once already.
After the fight we see a sweet scene of Itto caring for Daigaro. Showing he is still a caring father. At least at times. While traveling Itto finds that he is wanted for another job. However this turns out to be a trap. While praying to a Buddha and waiting for his supposed client he is attacked by Yagyu ninjas. He dispatches them with his usual ruthless efficiency. This time the scene is a little disturbing. A group of ninjas who have lost their limbs but are still alive moan in pain before being dispatched once and for all.
After having killed the ninjas Itto is drawn outside where another group of men await for him. They die just as quickly as the ninjas. During this scene we are presented with another piece of music. The music is less noticeable this time. All though if would have to be incredibly bad to distract from the great action. It is as quick, fierce, and bloody as ever.
Oyuki performing.
Once again the goddamn narrator shows up again. It is so unnecessary. This time it is to explain where Itto is going. He is going to the home of the Gomune a group of traveling street performers. After he informs the people of who he is, they tell him to leave. Daigoro steps forward and scares the people. Hearing all the ruckus the leader of the Gomune steps forward and invites Itto in. Itto asks about the Oyuki. The leader laments that Oyuki has a skilled assassin after her but tells him what he can. she was trained as a sword woman and performed as one. Oyuki was spotted by Lord Owari and turned into a bodyguard. The man also reveals that Oyuki is his daughter.
Itto is directed to a bath house by the old man. Oyuki is there bathing. She has her own flash back here. She remembers challenging a man who somehow lit his sword aflame and used it to beat her in battle. He knocks her unconscious and attempts to rape her. She awakes and tries to fight him off but is unable to. He even prevents her from biting off her tongue and there by killing herself. As the flashback ends Itto and Daigoro join the woman in the bath. Daigoro as usual makes his way toward the woman and more specifically her breast. We are once again reminded of the connection between breast and motherhood.
The woman exits the bath after telling Itto that she knows he wishes to kill her. After dressing she is attacked by a number of men. They do not last very long.
After the fight Itto and Oyuki have a conversation. It is revealed that she has been cutting the hair of the samurai she has killed. In doing this she has shamed them and their families. Some of these families have committed sepuku due to the dishonor. Itto asks how she is able to live with the hate and and anger that they have for her. She intends to continue to do as she has done until Enki Kozuka, the man who raped her, is sent after her.
Apparently Tattoo beats fire. Who Knew?
As soon as she finishes saying that he appears. Enki attempts to use his flaming sword and eyes to distract Oyuki again, but fails when she exposes her breast and tattoo to him. In his moment of distraction she throws a knife into his head and then stabs him in the stomach. The look on her face speaks volumes. Her revenge is complete and it offers no comfort.
Finally at peace.
After his death she fights Itto and loses quickly. Too quickly for my liking. I feel that she may have wanted to die. Considering she fought with her tattoos covered. She even says that she wanted to die with her skin covered. Itto cremates her body so that no one else would see her skin. With that the "Storyline" of this outing is complete. Whatever comes next has to do with the over arching plot.
Itto makes sure to bring her remains to her father and assures him she died with honor and grace. Itto is asked to remain with the Gomune people for a while. He accepts.
After that scene we move to Yagyu convincing Lord Owari that Itto not only killed Oyuki but Enki as well. Thanks to this he sends troops to the Gomune town to find and kill Itto. They invade the town and order the old man to hand over Itto. He refuses. He gives a very good speech about the equality of people. He is killed none the less. In his dying breath he tell Itto to take his head to Lord Owari.
Itto makes his way to Lord Owari and speaks to him. He is told to bow but Itto refuses. He tells him that he has not come as a prisoner but as a free man. Lord Owari takes this very badly and mouths off to Itto. Itto puts him in his place and takes him hostage so that he can leave the castle.
As the movie is coming to an end they are ambushed by an army of Yagyu men. The Yagyu men use huge rifle/cannons to keep Itto, Daigoro, and the Lord pinned down. Lord Owari does the stupid thing and walks out from behind cover thinking he would be safe. He wasn't. Itto leaves Daigoro so that he can make his way to the baby cart and have a fighting chance. Before that he tells Daigoro that if he does not return than Daigoro would have die there with him. Daigoro nods to this.
Itto reaches the baby cart and uses his cannons to kill the Rifle/Cannon men. He grabs a few weapons and engages the rest of the men in a running battle. He leads them through a veritable maze and pulls off some impressive stunts. As the Yagyu's numbers dwindle Itto suffers a few wounds. Eventually he faces Retsudo in a one on one duel. It is a fight that we have been waiting for since the first movie.
Ah, Knife to the Eye, my favorite move.
While the fight is short it is brutal. Itto stabs Retsudo in the eye and gets a blade through the sternum for his troubles. The two men are at a stalemate. Retsudo makes his escape as Itto faces the last of the Yagyu men. He is able to defeat them but not without injury. This is the most hurt Itto has ever been.
After the battle Daigoro walks through the battle field calling for his father. He picks up his sword and sheath along the way. When he reaches Itto he has to pull a sword out of his back. He does so with great difficulty. As with he last movie this one ends with a badly injured Itto slowly, painfully, walking away from the massacre.
Damaged, though they are, they are still Father and Son.
As the movie closes Daigoro notices just how hurt his father is. He places his hand on his father's in a caring gesture.
"Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril" is not a bad movie. It has the same merits as the other entries in the series. It is bloody, well acted, and wonderfully shot. However the out of place music and unnecessary narrator take this one down a notch. If you have seen the first three then their is no reason not to see this one. If, however, you have never seen a "Lone Wolf and Cub" movie this is the one to start with.
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