Black Angel Vol. 2Violence is like a disease, one which spreads and infects, is passed around and gives rise to new outbreaks of its affliction. Although only related in terms of theme and the main character, Mayo (now played by Yûki Amami), Black Angel Vol. 2 is a story about violence in its varied forms, as it deals primarily with the rippling effects of a hit gone wrong. Mayo--as in the preceding film--is an assassin, but one who targets other members of the yakuza, a neutral party managed by her contact, who goes by "Mama" (Shingo Tsurumi). When she fails to act first to assassinate a mob boss--her contract snaked by a pair of amateurs--the situation goes further amok when one of the target's bodyguards accidentally kills an innocent bystander, leaving his wife a widow.
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Although Black Angel Vol. 2 is fundamentally a kind of Japanese La Femme Nikita, it is a far cry better in quality and tone than its predecessor--dour, but at least consistently so. Mayo has a drinking problem, usually carting around a flask of spirits to bolster her resolve prior to killing a man--in fact, our first shot of the film is of that vice-ridden flask. She is haunted by the memories of the incident which we can expect served as a catalyst for her descent into the world of professional killing, after a thwarted rape attempt by a group of street thugs. However, Mayo was saved by another street tough, Yamabe (Takeshi Yamato), whose own act of heroism also had an impact on his life, although not necessarily for the better--he, too, felt the pull of the underworld, and joined the mob. Fast forward ten years and the two cross paths again, but this time facing one another with pistols in the fateful parking garage where Yamabe's boss is the very same target Mayo has been contracted to kill. Mayo's recognition of Yamabe forces her to hesitate; unfortunately, Yamabe's aim is less than sound, and he slays Shin, husband to the pregnant Suzu (Reiko Kataoka). The mob boss, Toyo, gets away, Yamabe is shamed, Mayo is left to lick her wounds, and Suzu miscarries her unborn child and is forced to go one in the wake of the tragedy. In the aftermath of this attack, we learn that Yazaki (Yôzaburô Itô), Toyo's rival has been trying to have Toyo rubbed out, even going so far as to recruit multiple killers to do the job, regardless of the complications of an overlap. What the story shows is that Mayo, Suzu, and Yamabe are but pawns in this underworld game of chess, but their lives are warped and bent by their proximity to this world of violence infecting their own. Even when Yamabe tries to offer an anonymous donation to assuage Suzu's suffering out of a sense of guilt, it only ends up putting her on the path to find her husband's killer--a devastatingly poor decision in the end. Suzu's transformative suffering mirrors Mayo's to an extent, just as Ikko's did in Black Angel Vol. 1; it's bad luck to be around Mayo it would seem.
Black Angel Vol. 2 is a departure from the first volume, predominantly in the tone and portrayal of events. There are a lot of introspective moments devoted to Mayo after the garage hit. She spends a good deal of time recovering, treating her gunshots, drinking and trying to prepare herself for her rematch with the yakuza. Although only superficially explored, it is pointed out when she is visited by Mama--who is apparently a transvestite, because any yakuza flick needs something a little off-the-wall--that Mayo's drinking helps her forget. Her drinking is often juxtaposed with her recollections of Yamabe and his defense of her ten years prior. Mayo appears to still have some difficulty maintaining her own life; not in regards to treating gunshot wounds, but for simple things like feeding herself. Her fridge is completely empty, and her freezer has only a small cup of ice cream and something resembling frozen plums...and yet there always seems to be an open bottle of bourbon at hand. A lot of what we learn about Mayo also comes in her flashbacks, as well as her vivid dreams, delineating the hidden trauma still gnawing away at her. These scenes are often played out in a monochromatic filter, or even washed out, and accompanied by a more mellow feel, a slower, deliberate pacing. The film moves more quietly through these moments, like that of the silencer she inexplicably avoids using after her first assassination. The Mayo of this film is more distant from the main action of the story, only interceding when called upon, while the desperate Suzu is forced to undergo the lion's share of the trauma, experiencing a level of violation which is all the more awful after the circumstances which beset her in the early portion of the film. Once again, there is a general level of indifference and monstrosity in the yakuza of Black Angel Vol. 2, bereft of practically any humanity, with the exception of Yamabe and his ally, Sugita, who suffer under the tyrannical flag of their organized crime outfit. Like in Black Angel Vol. 1, there is the pervading sense of futility in the pursuit of revenge, that in doing so, one sacrifices more than one gains; certainly this is true for Suzu, but also for Yamabe and Mayo. For Yamabe is so devoted to his gang--only by oath to the current jerk son of his original don--that he is reckless in his efforts to try to revenge the attack on Toyo. For Mayo, her sacrifice has been cultivated over time, disintegrating her very humanity, leaving her as a cold, distant shell of herself, killing by contract out of compulsion. Her inaction to help Suzu when she needed it at first is the most telling symptom of this infection of inhumanity running through her blood, a sign that since her attack, she remains a victim, and has yet to move out from that shadow.
Recommended for: Fans of a more quiet, composed "femme fatale" yakuza film, one where the main character is more cool and detatched, a dark avenger with a set of issues haunting her as well. Keep an eye open for an unusual nod to The Shining in Mayo's bed shirt.
Black Angel Vol. 2 is a departure from the first volume, predominantly in the tone and portrayal of events. There are a lot of introspective moments devoted to Mayo after the garage hit. She spends a good deal of time recovering, treating her gunshots, drinking and trying to prepare herself for her rematch with the yakuza. Although only superficially explored, it is pointed out when she is visited by Mama--who is apparently a transvestite, because any yakuza flick needs something a little off-the-wall--that Mayo's drinking helps her forget. Her drinking is often juxtaposed with her recollections of Yamabe and his defense of her ten years prior. Mayo appears to still have some difficulty maintaining her own life; not in regards to treating gunshot wounds, but for simple things like feeding herself. Her fridge is completely empty, and her freezer has only a small cup of ice cream and something resembling frozen plums...and yet there always seems to be an open bottle of bourbon at hand. A lot of what we learn about Mayo also comes in her flashbacks, as well as her vivid dreams, delineating the hidden trauma still gnawing away at her. These scenes are often played out in a monochromatic filter, or even washed out, and accompanied by a more mellow feel, a slower, deliberate pacing. The film moves more quietly through these moments, like that of the silencer she inexplicably avoids using after her first assassination. The Mayo of this film is more distant from the main action of the story, only interceding when called upon, while the desperate Suzu is forced to undergo the lion's share of the trauma, experiencing a level of violation which is all the more awful after the circumstances which beset her in the early portion of the film. Once again, there is a general level of indifference and monstrosity in the yakuza of Black Angel Vol. 2, bereft of practically any humanity, with the exception of Yamabe and his ally, Sugita, who suffer under the tyrannical flag of their organized crime outfit. Like in Black Angel Vol. 1, there is the pervading sense of futility in the pursuit of revenge, that in doing so, one sacrifices more than one gains; certainly this is true for Suzu, but also for Yamabe and Mayo. For Yamabe is so devoted to his gang--only by oath to the current jerk son of his original don--that he is reckless in his efforts to try to revenge the attack on Toyo. For Mayo, her sacrifice has been cultivated over time, disintegrating her very humanity, leaving her as a cold, distant shell of herself, killing by contract out of compulsion. Her inaction to help Suzu when she needed it at first is the most telling symptom of this infection of inhumanity running through her blood, a sign that since her attack, she remains a victim, and has yet to move out from that shadow.
Recommended for: Fans of a more quiet, composed "femme fatale" yakuza film, one where the main character is more cool and detatched, a dark avenger with a set of issues haunting her as well. Keep an eye open for an unusual nod to The Shining in Mayo's bed shirt.