Content Warning: This film contains sexual violence and semi-explicit sex acts that may be unnerving for sensitive viewers.
Mermaid Legend (1984) is the prize film in Third Window Film’s newest wave of their Blu-ray releases of The Directors Company movies. Directed by Toshiharu Ikeda, the man behind Evil Dead Trap (1988) and Angel Guts: Red Porno (1981), if released today, this film would be praised as elevated exploitation akin to the films of Tarantino (Kill Bill; Django Unchained) and John Waters (Cecil B. Demented; Pink Flamingos), though Mermaid Legend has more sexual violence and nudity than Tarantino would employ as a modern studio filmmaker. Instead, Ikeda uses his history in pornographic films to guide Mari Shirato (Oar; The Boss’ Wife) to an award-winning performance as one of the great female revenge stars.
“Even if they killed you, you wouldn’t die.”
Shirato plays Migiwa Saeki, the wife of a loud-mouthed, indignant abalone fisherman who is often told to quiet down about the corruption or dangers of their industry lest he endangers the livelihoods of his neighbors. When out on the water, Saeki dives for the mussel and he pulls her up. Their marriage is contentious, formal, and enough for them. But after her husband, rendered by Jun Eto (Outrage; Burst City), witnesses the nighttime murder of another fisherman, Saeki and her husband’s best friend Shouhei Miyamoto (Kentarō Shimizu (Boxer; A Legend of Turmoil)) are set on a collision course of revenge against big business and a corrupt government. Jason Statham (Working Man; The Beekeeper) wishes he could star in a revenge thriller about the working man with this much oomph under the hood.
Mermaid Legend is not for the faint of heart. It is violent; the primary colors of the film are ocean blue and blood red. And the sex scenes are intensely pornographic even as someone spot-censors just the point of insertion with some film correction fluid. Still, Ikeda crafts a mesmerizing, personal meditation on class consciousness, faith, and violent retaliation of all kinds that endure today. The staying power of the film, long beloved but rarely available for cinephiles to see, is split between Toshiyuki Honda’s (Metropolis; Supermarket Woman) mesmerizing music and Shirato’s performance.
Shirato’s Saeki is a quiet, willful woman. Measured in her responses and conversational tempo, she is a soulful killer. Her defining trait is devotion to both her husband and to Buddha. A touching motif in the film is her persistent offerings to Buddha which infuses the film with a spiritual undercurrent like so many American revenge thrillers do with Catholic imagery. She is beautiful and kind and recognized as such by those around her, and her devotion flies in the face of the apathy of the world around her. As the film labels her, she is “a woman not easily seduced” sexually, morally, or politically. Her continued survival and truth-telling make her a deviant in her community. A world tormented by the whims and urges of rich businessmen is a world in denial, and those living in denial lash out at anything that threatens their false comfort. As her calm demeanor is chipped away by betrayal, accusations, and exhaustion, Saeki’s unbending faith and courage make her a thrill to watch.
“You can rest in Buddah’s paradise now.”
The success of Mermaid Legend is all in the performance and music. Ikeda sprints across a tricky tightrope of tone and construction in the screenplay. While on a line-by-line level, some of the dialogue may seem simplified or rushed, there is a remarkable emotional scaffolding that keeps the film sturdy as he heaps heart-felt indignation and political ideas onto this revenge story. Translating the script to screen, great blocking and composition work together to create iconic imagery out of long, nearly unbroken action sequences. Created before the advent of CGI, there’s a special thrill as Shirato does her own stuntwork as a fighter and undersea diver. For those who seek content warnings, there is a rape sequence in the film that is exposed like male artists are inclined to do, but Ikeda does not erotically objectify the violating act, but instead uses deft direction to catapult Saeki and our understanding of her into a new realm.
Third Window Films brings a similar suite of special features to Mermaid Legend as you can find in their other Director Series offerings. There is a critic’s commentary by the always-great founders of Midnight Eye, Jasper Sharp and Tom Mes, who finally recorded a commentary in person. There’s also a video essay by James Balmont (BBC/Dazed) and an interview with the film’s screenwriter Takuya Nishioka (P.P. Rider; Village of Doom), which opens with an endearing apology for the moiré banding on his checkered suitcoat. Third Window Films specializes in rare Japanese films, particularly those of the long-dismissed ’80s and ’90s, but they don’t specialize in technical miracles like some other boutique brands. As is typical of their restoration style, shots of underexposed filmstock (whether on the original print or a projection print) prioritize an even legibility that is admirable but is not for everyone. Despite this, there is one moment of night photography where the moonlight bokeh shimmers behind Jun Eto on the ocean just like that iconic puddle shot in “Mariah” in West Side Story (2022), and, even underexposed, it still takes the breath away. That’s what Mermaid Legend does on the whole, knock the wind out of you.
Mermaid Legend Special Features:
- Region-free Blu-ray
- Interview with writer Takuya Nishioka
- Feature-length audio commentary by Jasper Sharp and Tom Mes
- Video Essay on Toshiyuki Honda by James Balmont
- Trailer
- Slipcase with artwork from Gokaiju
- ‘Directors Company’ edition featuring insert by Jasper Sharp – limited to 2000 copies
Available on Blu-ray February 17th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Third Window Films Mermaid Legend webpage.
Share this:
Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply