Blue tiger: Furia en la piel

After her son is shot and killed in a Yakuza hit, Virginia Madsen goes after the killers, using an ancient Japanese myth about dragon tattoos to plot her revenge. Unlike another female assassin film, "Ms. 45", the plot here is not straightforward, and is somewhat unpredictable. The movie is well photographed, and has an outstanding rhythmic soundtrack, that reminds me of the work of Philip Glass. There is plenty of violence, and things progress at an acceptable pace. It should be noted that Harry Dean Stanton has a very limited part as a tattoo artist. As female revenge thrillers go, "Blue Tiger" ranks with with the best of them. Recommended viewing. - MERK

"Blue Tiger" is a rare example of ambition almost overcoming budget, almost. The film tells the story of a young single mother who loses her 5 year old son when he is hit by a stray bullet in an attempt on a crime-lord's life by a Yakuza hit-man and her obsessive descent into the American Yakkuza underworld in search of her son's killer. The story which is rather original and urgent, is told in a straightforward manner, with some moments of stylish direction by Norberto Barba and cinematographer Christopher Walling who manage to give the film a much more lush look than would be expected from such a low-budget effort. But what truly sets this film apart are the combination of the stylish production and the energetic performances of the cast headed by the ever admirable Virginia Madsen who gives a touching and mesmerizing performance as the revenge-bent mother. Despite a mostly mediocre (and sometimes annoying) musical score, a first half that suffers from overly choppy editing that doesn't allow the first act enough time to breathe and develop properly and some misjudged moments of melodrama, this is one of those forgotten, ambitious B-movies that deserve a second chance for its sheer energy and ambition to transcend its humble origins.

Bobby Darin released a swing lp in 2002. It really wasn't the genre for his 1960's hits. But he grew up when swing was the most popular music. So he knew swing. This movie is made in the classic noir style. It is not the self-conscious, over the top, retro style like Sin City, or The Girl From the Naked Eye. No, whoever made this flick was old. They KNEW noir. But unfortunately in 2021, it is kind of slow, and cliched. Still gets five stars; because it is quality. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site.

From the crop of "Yakusa thrillers" made in the eighties, this one is easily the best. It has it all : a great actress (Virginia Madsen of "Candyman"'s fame), a good story unfolding almost like a Greek tragedy, good direction with more than one nod to John Woo… Yes, there are shoot-outs, but not ONLY shoot-outs. In more than one aspect, this movie reminded me very much of Gans's excellent and sensuous "Crying Freeman".

I finally managed to track down a VHS copy of this movie, and I'm glad I did. The quality of the print is astonishing. No blurry edges or twitches to distract the eye from a superb little revenge movie. The plot reminded me of Ms.45. Woman goes a bit obsessively bonkers and vows to track down a tattooed killer when her son gets killed in the crossfire from a bodged gang hit. Cue hair dye, naff outfits, shooting practice and Japanese lessons. Woot!

The tattoo thing allows Harry Dean Stanton to reprise his wheezy old wise man role from Repo Man. A neat cameo from one of my favourite actors. Michael Madsen also appears briefly to sell his sister a gun. Well he wasn't going to sell her flowers, was he?

The surprising thing about this movie is the pace. It's relentless, and it has that moody low budget Ferrara/Cohen urgency about it from start to finish. Great performances all round from a decent cast. Shame the mob guys looked like extras from the Kojak school of pie munching. Seeing as their main role is as cannon fodder, that's forgivable. At just under 80 minutes, this movie feels way too short. It's a good lesson in lean mean movie making , and appears to have left all the excess baggage on the cutting room floor. Worth the price of the video if you can find one, and worthy of a few brews if it turns up on cable.