Synopsis :
Ozu followers might find it difficult to believe, but this suspenseful and emotionally powerful gangster thriller is one of the high points in Ozu's oeuvre in the silent era. Shot with stylistic flourishes such as tracking shots and sweeping chiaroscuro, Ozu has made a moody expressionist potboiler in the noir tradition a la Sternberg. Like Walk Cheerfully, Ozu's ealier gangster film, a one-time champion boxer turned small-time ringleader finds himself moodily torn between the affections of a vamp and an innocent maiden. The climactic sequence (involving the single gunshot fired in the entire existing Ozu canon) is as powerful as any silent film you'll ever see.