A ★★★½ review of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981)

“Kaikan…”  This is a true yakuza film, which I think is one reason why some people go into it with wrong expectations and are disappointed. It’s about rival gangs, obedience and freedom and is basically a coming of age tale with a dead-pan satirical commentary on the yakuza genre. It was created as a platform to launch the career of Yakushimaru Hiroko and while that’s pretty obvious throughout its easy to see why it was popular in Japan. Don’t expect a lot of action but do expect to see some developing relationships between the protagonist and the gang she becomes