While browsing the DVD shelves for something new, I came across a title that caught my eye. It was called Gun Crazy: A Woman from Nowhere. It caught my eye, you know the words "Gun" and "Crazy" go well together, don't you think? Combine that with my love for Asian cinema, and it seemed like a no brainer. The premise looked interesting, so I picked it up. I watched it, liked it a lot, then went online and found that there was going to be a second film, subtitled Beyond the Law. So, of course I went out and picked it up too. Turns out that it's not a sequel, the only thing they share is a director, but it was still pretty good. In a nutshell, they are low budget, stylish, fast paced action tales. Let's take a look at the two separately.
A Woman From Nowhere. This episode plays a lot like a western. A stranger with a mysterious past arrives in town on a mission. Of course, that town is run by a ruthless crime boss, who is very adept at eliminating the numerous bounty hunters sent to collect his head. The story doesn't really get any deeper than that. What carries the film is the performance of it's star, Ryoko Yonekura. She plays the stranger, Saki, who arrives in town in a leather outfit on the back of a Harley. Her arrival starts bad as she witnesses a cold-blooded murder and gets entangled with some of the bosses henchmen, who also happen to be American military.
The story plays out in the standard way. We discover a connection between the boss, Toju, and Saki. The film plays out briskly over a running time of less than 70 minutes, cramming in some shootouts, and exposition at a pace that doesen't allow boredom to set in. It is well acted, has a a great look. I couldn't help but be entertained watching this movie. It is well entrenched in the B-movie realm, but it is a lot more fun than a lot of what is out there.
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