Director- Terayama Shuji.This is the fourth work I have seen of his.This work, unlike the others I have seen of his, is incredibly straightforward, too straightforward even, which makes it seem like this film was not made by Terayama at all. I need to investigate why this was created in the first place, as the only reason I can ascertain is that it was made for financial gain or mass appeal.The visuals, the premise, and the plot progression are incredibly straightforward and lack his typical auteur characteristics, such as psychedelic imagery and plots infused with nuances from his own life. Maybe pugilism, too, was a part of his life.The Boxer can be considered as Japan's Rocky in the same way Battle Without Honour and Humanity can be considered as Japan's Godfather.The story is a typical underdog one where a new up-and-coming fighter asks an older veteran, who has left the sport, to train him. Where this film diverges is with an added sensual scene, which adds nothing substantial to the plot, and the coach's daughter running away at the end.I found the reasoning for the coach's departure from the field to be nonsensical, as he quotes about the deaths of boxers, but they are for reasons unrelated to boxing itself. It would have made much more sense if he had quoted the deaths of the boxers due to injuries sustained during the matches.The boxing matches a shot well and have a more realistic vibe compared to films such as Raging Bull and Rocky due to them not utilising any shot techniques to make it more cinematic. Rather, they appear to be shot statically.The addition of real fighters and commentators at the end of the film was nice and adds more appeal to the film for the fans of boxing when the film was released.Another major gripe I have with the film is that Suguwara Bunta doesn't fight. He is the major reason I decided to watch this film, alongside the fact that it is a film directed by Terayama, and the subversion in both of them wasn't to my liking.Overall, this is a good watch for those who wish to finish his filmography and not an integral watch otherwise. The film is intriguing, but there are many better ones made about the sport.
Director- Terayama Shuji.This is the fourth work I have seen of his.This work, unlike the others I have seen of his, is incredibly straightforward, too straightforward even, which makes it seem like this film was not made by Terayama at all. I need to investigate why this was created in the first place, as the only reason I can ascertain is that it was made for financial gain or mass appeal.The visuals, the premise, and the plot progression are incredibly straightforward and lack his typical auteur characteristics, such as psychedelic imagery and plots infused with nuances from his own life. Maybe pugilism, too, was a part of his life.The Boxer can be considered as Japan's Rocky in the same way Battle Without Honour and Humanity can be considered as Japan's Godfather.The story is a typical underdog one where a new up-and-coming fighter asks an older veteran, who has left the sport, to train him. Where this film diverges is with an added sensual scene, which adds nothing substantial to the plot, and the coach's daughter running away at the end.I found the reasoning for the coach's departure from the field to be nonsensical, as he quotes about the deaths of boxers, but they are for reasons unrelated to boxing itself. It would have made much more sense if he had quoted the deaths of the boxers due to injuries sustained during the matches.The boxing matches a shot well and have a more realistic vibe compared to films such as Raging Bull and Rocky due to them not utilising any shot techniques to make it more cinematic. Rather, they appear to be shot statically.The addition of real fighters and commentators at the end of the film was nice and adds more appeal to the film for the fans of boxing when the film was released.Another major gripe I have with the film is that Suguwara Bunta doesn't fight. He is the major reason I decided to watch this film, alongside the fact that it is a film directed by Terayama, and the subversion in both of them wasn't to my liking.Overall, this is a good watch for those who wish to finish his filmography and not an integral watch otherwise. The film is intriguing, but there are many better ones made about the sport.
