Fighting Elegy

Set in Okayama in the mid-1930s, Fighting Elegy follows Kiroku Nanbu, a shy student who lodges with a Catholic family and becomes drawn to their daughter, Michiko. Rather than act on his feelings, he pursues a different idea of manhood, joining a gang of delinquents and throwing himself into brawls. His anger and willingness to use force set him apart, even as his attachment to Michiko continues to trouble him. His path eventually brings him into contact with radicals around Kita Ikki, in a Japan whose older certainties are coming apart. The film mixes action and drama with a streak of dark comedy.

Seijun Suzuki directed, working from a screenplay by Kaneto Shindō, with Kano Otsuka producing for Nikkatsu. It was Suzuki's twenty-second feature as director in chronological order, arriving between Tokyo Drifter and Carmen from Kawachi. Hideki Takahashi plays Kiroku, with Junko Asano as Michiko; Yūsuke Kawazu, Isao Tamagawa, Chikako Miyagi and Mitsuo Kataoka also appear. Running 86 minutes, it is a black-and-white period piece.

On IMDb the film holds 6.9 out of 10 from around 1,700 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from a much smaller group of 39 voters. The two audiences are broadly in agreement, though the far larger IMDb sample gives the steadier picture of how the film is regarded.