Nora-neko rokku: Onna banchô

A psychedelic biker musical about women with motorcycles, torches and switchblades, stickin' it to the Man. What looks like nihilism is actually another film attempt to figure out what feminism looks like, now that post-WWII Japanese masculinity cannot be trusted. It is weird that Wada is somehow more badass than Kaji, which distracted me until the go kart chase through the underground of the so-called Economic Miracle.

As a narrative, it's barely interesting enough to hold your attention, although I did get a kick out of the chase scene at the end. As a sightseeing tour of downtown Tokyo as it was in 1970, it's great, with panoramic views of the skyline from apartment rooftops, lots of action on the streets, and frequent ventures into Shinjuku's night life. You get the impression Tokyo is a city on the rise, with a lot of construction and activity.

You almost have to classify this as a musical just because of the sheer volume of nightclub scenes. The story is very basic and cliched as hell. The acting is sub par and a lot of the editing choices and direction is distracting. This is the second film in the "Stray Cat Rock" series I've seen and I've got to say I'm not very impressed with this franchise so far.

Points mostly for being unabashedly stylised, and yet this is still just a precursor to the glory of Sasori. Unlike that film, this is basically a dime-a-dozen exploitation flick with nothing to make it eminently watchable.

It is an easy watch, but has problems. The first major one is that for a film that is about them the girls are poorly (the 2 main protagonists) to completely not (all other girls) fleshed out. Secondly it misses the rebellious youthful spirit of better delinquent youth movies. It feels made to appeal to the young hip crowd by infusing it with all kind of hip effects and music performances. Which are third problem; those musical performances, especially those by Wada herself feel like padding.

Tall, butch, charismatic Akiko Wada (apparently the 'Japanese Aretha Franklin?') steals the show from cult fav Meiko Kaji in this sexy Japanese girl gang flick (the first in the Stray Cat Rock series). Awesome psychedelic visuals and soundtrack despite the relatively thin, thrown-together narrative.

It's no surprise that Keiji was the one who ended up with the film career and not Wada when Wada's character essentially has nothing to do. But Wada still dominates the film with her laid-back cool, height, and killer singing voice.

First entry in Stray Cat Rock series. It's short, groovy and keeps you entertained for 80 mins, but it's still stuck in hippie era, influenced by French new-wave and not as crazy or good as later Japanese exploitation films. It's nice to see Meiko Kaji before her rise to stardom in Lady Snowbood & Sasori films. Here, she is slightly overshadowed by Akiko Wada. '21 rewatch: liked it a bit more with checked expectations. Solid entertainment and fun characters with groovy music numbers.