A Taxing Woman (1987)

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A TAXING WOMAN / TAX INSPECTOR WOMAN (Lit) (MARUSA NO ONNA). Viewed on Streaming. Director Juzo Itami's satirical take (he is also credited as story writer) on the eternal battle between taxing authorities and tax cheats especially involving yakuza run/affiliated businesses. Itami's star is his wife Nobuko Miyamoto (a stunningly gifted comedienne) who plays a sweet-looking, but relentless and hard-nosed government tax agent for Japan's version of the US IRS. Apparently, she is only one of two women in the Tokyo office. Like rust, Miyamoto's character "never sleeps" and employs a unique (and amusing) set of tools and techniques to sniff out hidden income and tax evasion (such as counting cars and turnover in the parking lot of a love hotel). She is fearless and ferocious as her character ventures alone into dangerous situations armed only with an ID badge, writing notepad, and hand-held calculator! The Director also adds a touch of romantic farce here and there. Miyamoto almost manages to tie together what is really a collection of shorts (or skits)--labeled by the seasons--into a movie that smoothly progresses and builds to a climax. Unfortunately, she often disappears or is lost in the huge cast (including the Director's stock company) Itami deploys whose members are decidedly not funny! Loss of focus (and opportunities) results in a drifting film that is much too long with gratuitous soft-porn and nudity making it still longer (and unfunny)! "Score" is monotonous and quickly becomes irritating due to alto sax overkill. Disappointing, but worth watching once. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD. Details: streaming/restoration = 9 stars; cinematography (narrow screen, color) = 7 stars; lighting and color correction = 7 stars; subtitles = 7 stars; direction = 6 stars; score = 3 stars.

Who would think a two-hour film (and subtitled for non-Japanese speaking viewers) about tax collectors could be interesting? This was, although nothing extraordinary.....just pretty entertaining with an interesting lead character and strange soundtrack.I found Nobuko Miyamoro fascinating as the tax collector with all the freckles and the will to get the job done, no matter what it takes. It was interesting to discover how much the Japanese were taxed (at least when this movie was made) and what lengths they will go to cheat on their taxes!The hot-tempered gangster had some funny lines, some naked breasts were seen here several times to keep things spiced up for the male audience. Generally, this was fun to watch. The constant jazz-type beat on the main song was cool for quite a while but got tiresome toward the end.

This is one of my favorites of all time. It concerns the years-long quest of a tenacious Japanese Revenue Service assessor to uncover the misdeeds of a crooked businessman. The tax evader finds himself increasingly attracted to her brains and persistence, even as she gets closer to blowing his cover and getting him in hot water with the government. The viewer can also see just where this man is coming from, since the tax system in Japan is painted as any Republican's worst nightmare. This has the same director and central cast as the even more wonderful "Tampopo." The only problem I have with this film is the unbelievably annoying soundtrack; it's loud, piercing and doesn't leave my head until several days after I've seen the movie.

She's rather memorable, this taxing woman. She has a face like a China doll all grown up with freckles around her eyes and a mat of thick dark hair on her head as though cut with the aid of a vegetable bowl. She is Nobuko Miyamoto, wife of the late and lamented director Juzo Itami, and a comedic star worthy of 'Saturday Night Live' in its better days. She plays Ryoke Hakura, tireless tax inspector hot on the trail of shady tax dodger Hideki Gondo, played with rakish self-indulgence by Tsutomi Yamazaki. Itami blends situation comedy with some soap opera angst (Japanese and American) to which he adds some ersatz action/adventure shtick (the chase scene near the end with Hakura legging it after Gondo's teenage son, comes to mind) seasoned with a touch of the traditional theater and a little zesty porn, well mixed.The result is interesting and a little jarring.I was most affected by the atmosphere of this strange and original comedy. I found myself looking at the backdrops and the sets and into the faces of all those very neat Japanese bureaucrats as I followed Ryoko Hakura's tireless pursuit of the missing yen. All that paper work and all those numbers! Interesting were the attitudes and presumptions of the characters in terms of sexuality and social status. We can see that in the modern Japan a woman must navigate her way carefully through the sea of men, while a man must achieve financial success to command respect. And yet there lingers still the flavor and the swagger of the samurai as seen in the scene where Gondo cuts his finger to write a bank account number in blood.Aside from getting a little soapy at the end, this is fine flick, sly and amusing.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)