Pale Flower (Kawaita hana) (1964)
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86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
86% of users liked it
(602 ratings)
Masahiro Shinoda's brilliant film opens with mobster Murakami just getting released from prison for murdering a member of a rival clan, only to learn that during his internment, the two syndicates arranged a truce. Not unlike the protagonist in Albert Camus' The Stranger, Murakami's… More Masahiro Shinoda's brilliant film opens with mobster Murakami just getting released from prison for murdering a member of a rival clan, only to learn that during his internment, the two syndicates arranged a truce. Not unlike the protagonist in Albert Camus' The Stranger, Murakami's motives for killing were vague and that life holds little value for him. At an illegal gambling parlor, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious waif-like young woman named Saeko (Mariko Kaga) who lives life from one thrill to the next. Though she seems remarkably adept at losing large sums of money, she asks Murakami to find games with larger and larger stakes. Soon they become involved in an intense mutually destructive relationship. High stakes gambling and racing her little sports car eventually grow tiresome, and Saeko becomes attracted to drugs. Instead of dope, Murakami offers to let her watch him kill a rival clan leader, describing it as the ultimate thrill. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Directed By
- Masahiro Shinoda
- Written By
- Masahiro Shinoda, Ataru Baba
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- May 12, 1964 Limited
- Studio
- Criterion Collection
Critic Reviews
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Eric Melin, Scene-Stealers.com
Director Masahiro Shinoda takes lots of chances, using close-ups and off-kilter edits to deepen his characters. A jazzy, avant-garde score throws things even more off balance.
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Sean Gandert, Paste Magazine
Pale Flower sits comfortably as one of the darker noir films ever made
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Chris Cabin, Slant Magazine
A lively yet bleak allegory for post-war Japan and a totem of the Japanese New Wave, the underappreciated Pale Flower finally gets a fitting transfer from the Criterion Collection.
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Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
They get no kicks from champagne.
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Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
a lost yakuza classic, part Bob Le Flambeur, part Rebel Without a Cause, but with an ecstatic blankness all its own.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Ryô Ikebe
as Murakami
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Mariko Kaga
as Saeko
- Takashi Fujiki
- Chisako Hara
- Koji Nakahara
- Eijirô Tono
- Seiji Miyaguchi