TICKET LINK & PROGRAMMING DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED IN APRIL
Filmed in rapid succession throughout 1970, the STRAY CAT ROCK series captures a moment of cultural upheaval in post-occupation Japan. The five-film series follow the Alleycats, a girl gang led by the magnetic Meiko Kaji (who goes by many names throughout the series, and would soon go on to star in the iconic LADY SNOWBLOOD (1973) and FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION series (1972-73)). STRAY CAT ROCK latched onto the booming popularity of yakuza films, infusing them with a feminist countercultural energy reflecting the international women’s movement and hippie culture brought over to Japan courtesy of the lingering influence of the American occupation. Each installment of the series tackles the politics of its time, and this April, Spectacle is proud to present three of these films and their accompanying themes: racism in SEX HUNTER, student-led anti-war movements in MACHINE ANIMAL, and the enduring power of countercultural ideals in BEAT ’71. Kaji’s character lives by a strict code of honor, leading the Alleycats through a landscape where Americana, youthful rebellion, early psychedelic rock, club culture, and traditional Japanese values collide in an explosion of pop exploitation.
STRAY CAT ROCK: SEX HUNTER
Yasuharu Hasebe, 1970.
Japan, 86 minutes.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
Shot in a small coastal town sitting in the shadows of the Yokosuka US naval base, STRAY CAT ROCK: SEX HUNTER follows the Alleycats as they engage in a turf war with the Eagles, a band of racist macho gangsters. When Mari, one of the Alleycats, rejects the advances of Susumu, an Eagle, because of her love for her half-Black boyfriend Ichiro, the personal slight enrages Baron, the leader of the Eagles. Haunted by memories of mixed race men raping his sister when he was a child, Baron launches a terror campaign to violently purge the town of mixed race men, starting with Ichiro. As the Eagles’ hateful harassment escalates the Alleycats fight back, forging an alliance with the mysterious drifter Kazuma to combat the rising tide of racial violence and help him find his long lost sister.
STRAY CAT ROCK: MACHINE ANIMAL
Yasuharu Hasebe, 1970.
Japan, 82 minutes.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
The fourth STRAY CAT ROCK film to be shot & released in 1970, MACHINE ANIMAL begins with an Alleycats gang member stealing a package of LSD pills from a Vietnam war deserter trying to sell the drugs with his buddies so they can buy boat tickets to Sweden and flee Japan. The Alleycats never meant to steal a man’s freedom: after learning the truth — that the drugs are his only ticket to safety — their leader, Maya, is wracked with guilt. She rallies her fierce biker gang to do whatever it takes to make things right and help the boys sell their drugs. Their plans quickly spread throughout the underground, and rival gangs soon descend on them to snatch up the pills for themselves. What begins as an act of solidarity quickly becomes a free-for-all, forcing Maya and her crew to fend them off while racing against time to secure the boy’s escape.
STRAY CAT ROCK: BEAT ‘71
Toshiya Fujita, 1971.
Japan, 87 minutes.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
After getting framed for a murder her boyfriend Ryumei committed, Furiko finds herself incarcerated in the Women’s Remand Center. Two months later, she and her chosen sister Ayako escape. While Ayako heads to Shinjuku to rally Furiko’s crew, Furiko returns to her hometown to find Ryumei and confront him. Things get complicated when Furiko and her gang learn Ryumei is poised to inherit his family’s business empire, while his father (who framed Furiko for the murder) is running for mayor: his campaign would be wrecked by a murder scandal, so he kidnaps Furiko and holds her hostage in his mansion. As Furiko’s freewheeling crew schemes to rescue her, they become entangled in a web of political intrigue and corrupt cops. Much lighter fare than the rest of the STRAY CAT ROCK series, BEAT ’71 builds to an explosive climax at an abandoned mine transformed into a fake Western film set just outside of town where hippies, a biker gang, and chimpanzees face off amidst gunfights and dynamite.