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| Images courtesy of Shochiku |
Villains can be alluring and enchanting and, if executed correctly, can hold the audience in the palm of their hands. Kinji Fukasaku's film Black Lizard (1968) has one such outlaw, Mrs. Midorikawa (Akihiro Miwa), AKA the titular Black Lizard, a jewel thief with an unhealthy obsession with youth and beauty. Black Lizard has her sights set on two things, an expensive necklace known as the Star of Egypt, and Sanae Iwase (Kikko Matsuoka), the gorgeous young daughter of Shobei Iwase (Junya Usami), the jeweler who owns the necklace. Sanae works at a hostess club, and Black Lizard frequents the VIP room disguised as the glamorous Mrs. Midorikawa. Shobe receives a warning that his daughter is in danger and hires Detective Kogoro Akechi (Isao Kimura) to protect her.
Black Lizard is based on a 1934 story by Edogawa Rampo, and in his works, Detective Akechi is a recurring character, much like Sherlock Holmes. His character is similarly aloof and enigmatic, preferring to stay on the sidelines observing the situation and studying the criminal's methods. In this story, he develops a bit of a crush on the Black Lizard, and she returns those feelings threefold, existing in a state of limerence towards him for most of the narrative. Their relationship is logically doomed, and watching them pine for each other is intriguing, even though they are on opposite sides of morality.
Akihiro Miwa's performance is extraordinary, and he carries the entire film on his shoulders. In real life, he was a famous drag queen and cabaret performer, and his delicate features and penchant for androgyny garnered him much fame. The way his character occupies a liminal gender space in the film adds an air of mystique and sensuality that is missing from the majority of works from that time. Black Lizard does not possess a love of jewelry because of the money; she loves it because it represents beauty frozen in time that will never deteriorate with age. She extrapolates on that obsession by keeping an art gallery full of "living dolls," humans she has somehow turned into statues made of flesh that never age or rot.
Infamous writer Yukio Mishima has a cameo as one of the "living dolls" immortalized shirtless and flexing his physique. It is believed that he was gay, or at least bisexual, and during his scene, Black Lizard sensually caresses his body, admiring his masculinity. In a meta way, this becomes symbolic because the actor playing Black Lizard is a man. This is an interesting way to have queer content during a time when it was frowned upon to portray it literally.
Visually, Black Lizard is a sumptuous feast for the eyes full of neon colors, sparkling baubles, and elaborate backdrops. Black Lizard saunters in elegant gowns, and she has several costume changes to accompany her various emotional states. The lighting is also fantastic and used to great effect to establish different moods. Isao Tomita's score is full of electric jazz compositions, and Akihiro Miwa even composed the central theme for the film. The overall pacing and direction of the film can feel disjointed, and are some unexplained supernatural elements that pop up that might distract from the story. Ultimately, they add spice and camp to the film and end up being entertaining. The main theme of the film is the idea that love can be everlasting and a way to gain immortality even if one's body dies. Black Lizard doesn't feel like a regular Fukasaku work, so it is worth a watch to see his style applied to a different genre.
--Michelle Kisner
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