By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him — By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him (Blu Ray)

Tai Kato (I, The Executioner and Beast in the Shadows) directs this thrilling 1966 crime drama set against the backdrop of post-war Japan. A small rural community is terrorised by gangs of immigrant Koreans, who hassle and destroy the peaceful lives of anyone they can extort cash from. Dr Amamiya (Noboru Ando) watches from the sidelines, his rage bubbling over but prevented from interfering due to his self-imposed vow of pacifism. But how long can he hold back the anger and the lust for revenge?

Kato is probably best known for his revenge and yakuza movies, which have covered a wide range of subjects from samurai to gamblers, and there are certainly elements of those tales baked deeply into the DNA of BAMFSYKH (I am thankfully shortening this film’s title for brevity). But there’s almost an element of a self-reflective parody in here, with the gang element having a fairly justifiable motive for their actions. Korea has historically been dehumanised by Japan in the past, with many of these sentiments still remaining into the late 20th century period, so to see these Korean gangsters being portrayed as so cartoonishly evil ends up playing into the period portrait Kato is painting with his opening intertitles; which lay out a hope for unity. The title itself acknowledges the bigotry of the time, and having the main character be a doctor adds that additional element of prejudice being reassessed as he helps anyone who is injured; in an on-the-nose ‘we’re all the same on the inside’ metaphor. However, I feel the actual narrative ends up playing out as a fairly stock revenge thriller, the critique of the period’s bigotry doesn’t really play into the story that much and for the most part it is a story of taking back the town which we have seen before in loads of stronger films. 

Where Kato creates a distinct personality for the film is in two places: Ando’s performance and the cinematography. Ando, here playing against type as the stoic local doctor, is perfectly cast for this role. He brings a real gravitas to the role and there is something almost Shakespearean in the way he portrays a man beaten down by the tragedy and pain of his past as a soldier. When we first meet Dr Amamiya, staring off into space, we get an immediate sense that this is a man who has lost his connection to the world around him. Just with a simple look, Ando captures a very unique sense of loneliness and longing for peace which helps sell the stakes of the film instantly as it gives you a clear idea of how much these gangs have destroyed a once thriving community spirit. 

The cinematography is fascinating. The film is often presented to you in a series of awkward, intimate close-ups. It’s all very claustrophobic and to begin with I thought it was something that wasn’t quite working, at points looking like a constraint of the location choices or set design. But when I started thinking about how this film’s focus is on the bubbling violence of two feuding communities being trapped together, the cinematography started clicking with me and I found the film visually arresting. 

Special features this time around offer a good level of in-depth analysis and production history information. Firstly, filmmaker Kenta Fukasaku (Battle Royale 2: Requiem and X-Cross) brings us his new appreciation of the film, obviously, there’s some nice detail about how the film personally influenced his career and inspired him in the films he made during his career. Continuing this very personal focus, actor Sanae Nakahara is given a tribute and homage to her career by her son Kenta Fukasaku. Again this gives us a good portrait of how Fukasaku was further inspired to get involved with cinema and gives a good sense of the legacy of the late performer. Finally, we Nathan Stuart gives us a new video essay on the career of legendary yakuza actor, and leading man of BAMFSYKH, Noboru Ando. The essay covers a lot of Ando’s personal acting style as well how this film fits around his wider career and how the role of Amamiya was Ando playing against type and showing his skill and range off. All I would say against this selection of features is that I would have liked something which would have filled me in on the career of Tai Kato, the director, but otherwise, this is a very strong suite of bonus features. 

On the whole, I didn’t quite click with this film as much as I would have liked to. I just don’t think the revenge story is all that unique despite the nuances of the race relations narrative playing underneath, but the central performance from Ando is immensely compelling and the cinematography effortlessly engrosses you in the world of this small rural community. The special feature don’t so much tell you anything about the production of the film but paints a vivid image of the intense legacy that this film has left on many artists and creatives. BAMFSYKH is a hidden gem if you are in the mood for it, and it really does deserve a bit more recognition than it gets. Hopefully, this new Radiance Blu-ray gives the film a bit of new life.