Goro likes a simple life. The big city. Fast cars. Faster women. That's all it takes to keep the carefree young man happy. Put him behind the wheel of a car and he has not a care in the world, whistling on his way to work. That the car is stolen and Goro works as a hitman seem almost secondary, secondary that is until Goro draws the task of killing the head of an opposing crime family and then must hide in Kobe - to his point of view a backwards, vulgar place with nothing worthwhile to do. Not to worry, he's told, it shouldn't be a long stay. The family will take care of things here and when everything is settled Goro will be free to return.
This is the world of Velvet Hustler, a surprisingly light hearted and carefree crime romp from director Toshio Masuda starring Tokyo Drifter's Tetsuya Watari with art direction from regular Seijun Suzuki collaborator Takeo Kimura. It's a stylish and breezy piece of work, one driven by a casual tour-de-force performance by Watari in the title role.
Goro has an easy life in Kobe. When not driving clients to a local night club / brothel and keeping the girls there safe he spends most of his time simply sitting in a rocking chair down at the water, his loyal crew hanging on his every word. Goro is adored in Kobe, he is a star there but perhaps life for him is a little too easy. There is nothing to challenge the man and he is simply bored of it all. Bored of his life, bored of his job, bored of the local women. All he really wants is to return home to Tokyo but, more than a year after being sent to Kobe, there is no sign that he will ever be summoned back. Life holds no surprises for Goro in Kobe until the arrival of a beautiful woman searching for her missing jeweller-fiance, followed shortly by the arrival of the puffy-cheeked Jo Shishido as a hitman sent to end Goro's life.
And here is where Velvet Hustler takes a surprising turn. Rather than play as a straight gangster drama the film becomes a sort of New Wave romantic comedy of opposites. Ruriko Asaoka's wealthy ice queen is not only beautiful but seemingly unattainable and suddenly Goro has a goal in life: he has to get the ungettable woman. For her part the ice queen secretly enjoys the attention and the interplay between the two is sharp and memorable, Goro always pursuing in a very charming, slacker-insistent sort of way, while Asaoka stays just out of reach. Throw in Goro's call girl would-be girlfriend, his star struck lieutenant, a cop obsessed with putting him away and Shishido's weirdly philosophical hitman and you've got a potent stew.
Velvet Hustler is a light hearted romp through the gangster genre, one driven by a tour de force performance by Watari. Though Watari is known somewhat on these shores thanks to his work with Seijun Suzuki he definitely doesn't get the attention he deserves. Watari perfectly embodies the spirit of the film: he is carefree, playful, stylish and more than a little bit dangerous when crossed. More importantly he lights up every frame he is in without seeming to try at all. Velvet Hustler was meant to be a light piece of fluff, a little bit of fantasy escapism for its original 1967 audience, but what a piece of fluff it is.
I love this movie.