Okatsu the Fugitive (1969)

It's Difficult NOT To Enjoy This Movie

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Okatsu's father threatens to tell the authorities (whoever they are) that a man is importing untaxed tobacco and making too much profit...oh I kid you not. And BTW he is enslaving local farmers, not so much as a crime. This causes a rift where mom and dad are killed while mom was possibly raped (what was that supposed to be?) in front of her. Okatsu, who is good with a sword vows revenge after she delivers a note telling the government about the bad guy's operation.Certainly there was a lot of cultural aspects that didn't translate well, such as the plot of this script. The action was boring too.Guide: No sex. Maybe a rape. Male rear nudity...my surprise.

Like the last Okatsu film ("Quick-Draw Okatsu"), this film has little to do with its predecessor other than the leading lady and her name, Okatsu. And, sadly, neither really have a lot to do with the original film, "Yôen Dokufuden Hannya No Ohyaku". I am sure this confused the heck out of viewers and I was left feeling a bit cheated by this. In the original film, Okatsu was the daughter of a prostitute who had killed herself. Later, Okatsu's boyfriend is murdered and she spends the rest of the film seeking revenge. In the second film, instead of being an orphan, she suddenly has a brother and father. They are murdered and she seeks revenge. In this installment, there is no brother and she's got an entirely different father. What gives?! However, despite these many changes in each film, the basic plot is nearly identical--so much that the films start to become boring by #3. As a result, this final installment is understandably the last--I can't see how any momentum could have been established due to the sloppy writing. Making the three films one long saga would have improved the overall effort immensely.In this film, there is, once again, an evil local lord. Okatsu's father is a friend and goes to him--begging him to change his wicked ways. The lord responds by murdering his friend and raping the daughter, Okatsu. However, the dead man has left a letter detailing all the offenses by the lord--accusing him of many crimes. So, the evil big-shot's lackeys spend much of the movie looking for the document--that happens to be hidden on Okatsu. Okatsu's supposed friend leads these men in search of the incriminating letter.Unfortunately, apart from the recycled feel to the film, it also suffers from a profound lack of action. It's much more talky and far less interesting and lacks the spark of the previous two films. Overall, it's watchable but not much more.By the way, did you notice that in EACH of the three films, a male character had to come and help Okatsu? I don't recall too many films with male leads in revenge films who had ANYONE come to help them. A bit of sexism despite the girl-power message, I think.

Okatsu the Fugitive is the third film in the "Ohyaku/Okatsu" series, which sees a female sword master getting revenge on people. Like the second entry in the series, this one is basically just the same idea as the first film with a different storyline. It doesn't follow on from the other two films in any way and indeed the plot line is entirely different in this film than it was in the other two and the only similarity is the lead character's name. It has to be said that this is the weakest of the three films too; as while the first two provided entertaining stories in their own rights; this one is far too muddled. The plot once again focuses on Okatsu; a "tomboy" who is good with a sword. Her father has found her a man to marry and actually she doesn't seem too upset about the situation. At the same time, a bunch of farmers are being slaughtered by a corrupt group running a tobacco smuggling ring. They're being investigated by a man who is documenting their crimes and when they find out about it, they torture him for information but get none. It's not long before he and Okatsu's mother wind up dead and she sets out for revenge.The plot has a lot to it, although it's not really a good thing because the film feels like it doesn't really have time to get through everything. To its credit, the plot of this film is more different to the plot of the first film than the plot of the second film was, but even so; it could have done with being a bit better thought out. On the technical side of things, this is definitely a very good film however and is probably the best filmed of the lot of them. The cinematography is beautiful and the locations are all captured nicely. Director Nobuo Nakagawa also delights in showing us some great surreal shots towards the end. There's a fair amount of violence in the movie; although I would say it's not as bloodthirsty as the previous entry. Still, the blood flows and there's plenty of action. The final revenge sequence is really good and just about justifies watching the rest of the film to get there. Overall, this is still a decent film and definitely a must see for anyone that enjoyed the other two films in the series; although it is the weakest of the trilogy.

Perhaps the honchos at Toei Studios were desperate to have a female "demon" fighter of some sort starring Junko Miyazono or how else can one explain the same film premise being redone in 3 variations within the course of two years? All the elements from "Female Demon Ohyaku" and "Quick Draw Okatsu" are here again. Is it any better? Well, that's a good question.After a cool opening abstract action scene, we are treated to the sight of farmers being oppressed, kidnapped and murdered by the local ruling elite who are running a black market tobacco ring. Investigating this is Mr. Makebe a medium ranking samurai who writes down all the misdeeds of his compatriots and strangely attempts, on his own, to convince the leader Judayu to stop his criminal operation before the central government finds out. Judayu doesn't go along with this idea, captures Mr. Makebe and subjects him to a water wheel torture to find out where the document is hidden. When this doesn't produce results, Judayu tricks Makebe's wife and daughter, Okatsu, to his house where they are threatened with rape in front of Makebe. Mrs Makebe is thrown into a cage with grunting criminals who try to rape her but Okatsu, who we've seen perfect a special technique in sword fighting class earlier, breaks free and battles the minions of Judayu. In the mêlée Mr. Makebe kills himself and his wife but not before telling Okatsu where the document is hidden. Okatsu's sword instructor shows up and tricks her into letting her guard down then knocks her out. The evil Judayu rapes Okastu but she won't reveal where the document is hidden. Judayu then enlists the help of Okatsu's pathetic fiancé who helps Okatsu to "escape" only to see if she goes for the document. She gets it and goes on a quest for revenge against Judayu while being tailed by her fiancé.Does the story sound a little un-thought out? Well that's because it isn't thought out very well at all. There are some big plot holes such as when Okatsu gets the document but no-one tries to get from her when she finds it. There's a scene of the bad guys feeding the farmers and suddenly killing them all. Why? Who knows, it isn't explained. Other times the bad guys just stop fighting and run away even though they seem to have the advantage. It's unfortunate since this is the best looking film in the trio. The camera and lighting are great. The actors are once again great and the fight scenes are well done at times. Junko Miyazono still seems uncomfortable with a sword but there are a few scenes where the choreography is perfect for her abilities. Of course her acting makes up for her physical limitations. As a note, Tomisaburo Wakayama wasn't involved in this film.So we have three films where the chief villain virtually repeats the same lecherous threats against the heroine. We have virtually the same rape scene three times. We have two films where the family is tortured to death and two films with a plucky young woman in shorts/ miniskirt. This time the Rui character shows up as an orphan living in a temple but unlike "Quick-Draw Okatsu", she really has no point being in this film at all and is wasted. She kicks one guy, jumps into a tree and essentially disappears for the rest of the film.This film isn't bad at all despite the poor plot structure, you should just watch it with some time between watching the other films otherwise the repetition might be deadly.