Born Under Crossed Stars

The final film in the Seijun Suzuki The Early Years. Vol.1 The Youth Movies  collection is Born Under Crossed Stars (1965) another Toko Kon novel adaptation like The Incorrigible. Essentially the story of a young man, Jukichi (Ken Yamauchi) with a strong sense of justice in the Taisho era  is torn between two girls: the flighty Taneko (Yumiko Nogawa star of Gate of Flesh) and the serious Suzuko (Masako Izumi). This film provides provides ample opportunity for Suzuki to embrace his taste for the strange – notably in his milk patter opening with its literal baby monkey, but also finding room for beetles on strings, “poisoned” manju buns, and illusionary visions. Sticking mainly to static camera, Suzuki nevertheless showcases his taste for unusual composition and editing, making use of rapid focus pulls, side wipes and dissolves to convey the passage of time. Some of the extras in this set include Tony Rayns on Youth Movies (an introduction to Suzuki's Youth Movies by film critic Rayns) and commentary by Jasper Sharpe on this film. The booklet also has an essay from Sharp, "Seijun Rising: Suzuki's Seishun Eiga."