Pale Flower

Pale Flower (乾いた花) is a 1964 Japanese film noir directed by Masahiro Shinoda. The film is about Muraki (Ryō Ikebe) a Yakuza hitman just released from prison. At an illegal gambling parlor, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious young woman named Saeko (Mariko Kaga). Though Saeko loses large sums of money, she asks Muraki to find games with larger and larger stakes. The two become involved in an intense mutually destructive relationship. Film critic Roger Ebert gave Pale Flower four stars and placed it on his list of Great Movies.

Plot
Muraki, a hard-boiled Yakuza gangster, has been released from prison after serving a sentence for murdering Kijima, a rival gang member. At an illegal gambling parlor, he bets a large sum of money and loses to Saeko, a young upper-class woman who drives fast cars. Later that night, he reconnects with Shinko Furuta, his former lover, at a clock shop whose abusive brother has mortgaged the shop. The next day, at a horse race, Muraki learns that the Yuzuka gang has made peace with the Funada gang to counter the Imai gang from Osaka. A week later, Saeko asks Muraki to take her somewhere she can play for higher stakes.

On her way home, a co-worker from her office proposes marriage to Shinko, but she refuses. Shinko recounts what occurred, in which Muraki tells her to marry the co-worker, but she refuses because she loves Muraki. Muraki takes Saeko to a high-stakes gambling den at Aikawa's inn in Tsunamachi, Tokyo, where she wins another large sum of money. Days later, Muraki learns about Yoh, a heroin addict who fled Hong Kong after killing two people. Muraki confesses he hates drug addicts, seeing them as cowards. However, Saeko is attracted to Yoh because she has an interest in taking illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, the Yazuka and Funada gang leaders discuss sending Muraki on an errand to kill the Imai gang leader. After another night of high-stakes gambling, Muraki walks down a street where he is ambushed by a knife-wielding assailant. Days pass, in which Muraki goes without seeing Saeko. He later tells Reiji about a nightmare he recently had, in which Yoh gives Saeko a drug injection.

He wakes up later, and learns that Tamaki, a member of the Funada gang, has been killed by the Imai gang. Reiji offers to avenge Tamaki's death, but the Funada boss turns him down. Muraki then volunteers to kill Imai. Back at his apartment, Muraki meets with Shinko again encouraging her to marry and leave him be. Before he leaves with Reiji, Muraki meets again with Saeko, who tells him she experimented with heroin. Angered, Muraki takes her to a classical music café where Imai happens to be. At the café, he stabs Imai to death right in front of her.

Two years later, inside a prison, Muraki learns that Saeko has been killed by Yoh. He reflects that while Saeko is dead, he still longs for her.

Production
Director Shinoda was influenced by Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal while making the film. Shinoda chose the subject of yakuza as he felt the yakuza world is the only place where a Japanese ceremonial structure is sustained.

Release
The film's focus on visuals and sound over dialogue prompted screenwriter Masaru Baba to complain to managers at Shochiku. His accusation that Shinoda had made an "anarchistic" film led to a nine-month delay of the film's release.

Home video
Homevision released a Region 1 DVD of Pale Flower on November 18, 2003. The Criterion Collection released a DVD and Blu-ray edition of the film that features a video interview with Masahiro Shinoda as well as commentary by film scholar Peter Grilli.

Legacy
In 2012, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia included the film in his personal top ten (for The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time poll), writing: "Why can’t all film noir be like Pale Flower?" In 2022, filmmaker Michael Mann included the film in his personal top ten for Sight and Sound, writing: "For its incredible opening scenes alone."