Almost vaudeville. Sukiroku did not know his father, and his mother died early, so as soon as he grew up, he decided to become a wandering warrior. He made a living by helping different people carry out revenge. A few years later, he decided to go home. And in his hometown, he seems to have a job too. An inspector is expected to arrive to bring justice to an elderly killer. Sukiroku initially wants to help the inspector, but after learning the family secret, he takes the other side and cracks down on those he previously wanted to help. And in the story of revenge, everything was not so simple. After all, the inspector turned out to be corrupt, and therefore it is not yet known for what reasons people were killed by the person he was going to take revenge on.
Revenge for Sale is shot in a light, almost volatile style, having all the features of an unobtrusive theatrical production, almost vaudeville. Just look at the gait of Sukiroku, with which he moves around the town. On his jumps, compressions, theatrical gestures and lively facial expressions, giving out some frivolity. Even more eloquent in this regard is his dress. He is wearing an expensive kimono, but extremely short - so much so that his underwear is completely bare. And in this way he walks the whole movie.
The story of Sukiroku, as well as the history of the inspector, is not perceived as a tragedy. These are simple stories and therefore far from full-fledged critical realism. But this is a lively lubricant, which, although it plays on stereotypes, is perceived as a good work in the genre of historical everyday life, although historical realities here are extremely conditional. In other words, after watching this film, the viewer will not learn anything new about Japan and its history. The only interesting detail is the Japanese coffins shown in the film, which are nothing more or less than wine barrels.
In Revenge for Sale, there are no signs of a truly significant movie. Even the characters here are described very stereotypically and very universally, which again makes historical scenery conditional. In a rough approximation, the film can be considered as a samurai action movie, but the fights also do not shine with complexity and even more realism. Everything is very conditional - without wounds, without blood, and light cuts with a sword cause instant death. The film is somewhat reminiscent of a fable, or even more precisely, a Ukrainian fairy tale about the cunning Peter, who tricks everyone around and gets out of any mess. Sukiroku is just that - naked but invincible. Although his image is extremely primitive, again as in a fairy tale. Even no instruction in the film is not, everything is subordinated to another goal - the image of successful dexterity Sukiroku.
7 out of 10