As I sat and watched "Kurotokage", I kept wondering if it had first been a story taken from a Japanese Manga, as it had a very strong comic book look to the film as well as the plot. It felt a bit like "Golgo 13" or "Lupin III"--but it also was, oddly enough, a film with musical interludes!
The film is about a master thief known only to the authorities as 'Black Lizard'. Little did they or detective Kogoro Akechi know that this person was a woman--and an incredibly smart one at that. The plot involves Black Lizard's attempt to kidnap a rich man's daughter so she can force him to give him a HUGE ransom--but there is, of course, more to it than that.
This film is filled with weirdness above and beyond the plot. Often, the lighting changes and characters (mostly Black Lizard) have little surreal song and dance numbers! It all comes off as very campy and strange--but also a lot of fun. While the film is pretty much a comic book and the story is a bit silly, it is worth seeing just for its weirdness factor. Oddly enjoyable.
