After World War II, some Tokyo prostitutes band together with a strict code: no pimps, attack any street walker who comes into our territory, defend the abandoned building we call home, and punish whomever gives away sex (who falls in love). Maya, a young woman whose family has died, joins the group. Into the mix comes Shin, a thief who's killed a G.I. The women allow him to hide while recovering from wounds, but then he won't leave. Maya is drawn to him, discovering as she falls in love that she can feel again; she's now more fully human, but at the same time, she's endangered herself and her livelihood. Can she and Shin make it out of Tokyo to establish life as a couple?
2 things impressed me the most with this film: pacing and dual images. This seemed like the fastest Japanese movie I've ever seen in my life. As soon as the title of the film comes on screen, the audience is thrown into the whirlwind of post-war Tokyo with no regard for credits, story build-up, character introduction, etc. Secondly and what I enjoyed more were the duel images on screen. A character would be onscreen to the right and on the left side, an image of another character off screen would suddenly appear so the audience could see his/her reaction to a situation. Satoko Kasai also did a fine job as the group's leader. Other than these, nothing really impressed me with this film and it seems to be the weakest from some of the other Japanese films I've viewed recently.
