The Scarred Crest

Fourth in the series of films following the trials and tribulations of doctor and reluctant yakuza clan boss, Ryuji, The Scarred Crest redeems itself enough to allow one to intuit how they managed to squeeze 10 sequels from the Otoko no monsho franchise.

Grand cinema this is not but it's an interesting enough concept set in a time period and subject matter that you don't see represented often so it's worth watching it you've got some time to burn. Ryuji is doctoring with the troops fighting in Manchuria when he fails to save the also reluctant son of yet another yakuza boss. Upon returning home he offers to help the soldier's father when his clan falls under attack, via embezzlement of money that was to be used for the construction of barracks for the troops, by a rival mob leader, the wonderfully creepy Toru Abe.

The way the Manchurian war is featured is what is so interesting for me. That was a war that '60s Japan could apparently feel OK with as the patriotism of the clans or the worthiness of the invasion is never in doubt and there's a moral clarity about the conflict that just seems a little odd from this distance, in both time and mileage. Still, not bad. Not great, but not bad.