Though he is not widely known abroad, Shotaro Ikenami (1923-90) was a prolific writer of samurai novels that became fodder for a long list of hit TV series and films in Japan. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, a consortium of media companies has produced two films based on the author’s series about Baian Fujieda, an acupuncturist-slash-assassin in Edo (present-day Tokyo).
Published from 1972 to 1990, the novels inspired multiple TV and film adaptations, including a 1990s TV series starring a young Ken Watanabe as Baian. The first of the two latest film iterations, “Baian the Assassin M.D.,” is more lavishly produced than the average television period drama, with lushly atmospheric visuals by cinematographer Yasuhiko Minamino and skilled, though not inspired, direction by Shunsaku Kawake. But the blackhearted villains and the hero who is dirty only on the surface make the story a good fit for the small screen, the audience for which has long preferred broad-stroke entertainment over knotty character drama. Also, the film is squarely pitched at graying Ikenami fans, with 60-year-old Etsushi Toyokawa bringing an “angel of death” gravitas to his role as Baian.
While in demand for his life-saving skills as an acupuncturist, Baian works an unusual side hustle killing strangers at the behest of an agent, called a “tsuru” (“vine”) in underworld jargon, who is in turn contacted by a client, called an “okori.” Other than the agent, the only one who knows about his secret life is Hikojiro (Ainosuke Kataoka), a toothpick maker who is both a close friend and a wily fellow killer.
Though he’s in the murder business for the money, in his own dark way, Baian is on the side of justice: He dispatches only those he feels are richly deserving of a premature end.
The story gets underway when he accepts a commission to kill Omino (Yuki Amami), the calculating second wife of an elderly restaurateur. She regards her husband as little more than a stepping stone for her own ambitions and runs his sprawling restaurant as her own fiefdom, pimping out young waitresses to wealthy customers. Baian gets this and other information from Omon (Miho Kanno), a veteran waitress who hates her new boss — and subsequently falls in love with Baian.
Then, on his way to see a patient, Baian comes upon a samurai (Taichi Saotome) fighting off a group of would-be assassins, slicing and dicing them swiftly and mercilessly. After the samurai slays his last foe, he locks eyes with Baian. Though the latter walks on, this encounter is not to be their last.
As these and other plot threads intertwine, Baian comes to an unsettling revelation that opens the doors to his past, when as a teenager he was abandoned by his mother and abusive stepfather and separated forever from his beloved younger sister.
An accomplished and versatile actor, Toyokawa brings welcome nuance and depth to the role of Baian, but others, beginning with Itsuji Itao as a lecherous restaurant regular, shamelessly ham it up. Meanwhile, the story’s tearful melodrama creaks with age.
Still, a hero who can dispatch baddies with nothing more than a long, expertly inserted needle is undeniably cool. However, his skills can also chill, especially if syringes give you the shivers. Part 2, which is set for release on April 7, promises more of the squirm-inducing same.
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| Run Time | 134 mins. |
| Language | Japanese |
| Opens | Feb. 3 |
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