[KFCC] Rica Review

Story: Born out of hatred and anger, Rica is the result of an innocent girl raped by a group of American soldiers. With no one around for comfort and security, she learns to protect herself. Raised on the streets and embellished in a world of crime, Rica must do what she can to survive on her own. Whether escaping out of prison, or battling her way to the top on the streets, Rica consistently gets mixed up in what she knows best – a good fight. Released during the rise of the ‘Pinky Violence’ era, RICA is one hell of a handful that never seems to slow down until its bitter end.

Review: I will start off by saying that this film is by no means in the same league of the pictures Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto made during the same time. The Pinky Violence films that Panik House released over their short but superb life span are, in my opinion, some of the best of their kind. However, looking at RICA from a lower perspective one can really enjoy this entertaining yet highly flawed film. While you may definitely find Rica Aoki to be a tough and crazy girl she just doesn’t cut it like Sugimoto and Ike did. Gone is the ultra slick look of their films and inserted instead is more slapstick humor and amateur camera tricks, i.e. - sped up fight sequences and other schlocky gimmicks, which one could at times confuse these scenes with a Buster Keaton matinee.

Some of the blame may fall on director Ko Nakahira, who roughly 15 years prior to RICA helmed the much-praised Crazed Fruit (a film which was said to have been a favorite of French New Wave legend Francois Truffaut). Its a shame honestly, that a filmmaker with such raw talent would 15 years later dump what is left of his talent and energy into a flawed exploitation flick. Then again, you can’t really accuse the director of not trying his hardest at making the film watchable. While I have been a huge fan of these genre films that I have seen released stateside thus far, there is one thing that has left me with a bad taste in my mouth - the often-graphic sexual scenes found in these pictures. These sections often times leave the viewer feeling a bit awkward. Thankfully, Nakahira chose with RICA to leave these scenes minimal and nearly non-existent. Also some reviewers have mentioned the very anti-American viewpoint the film takes but it really didn’t seem to bother me too much. Lets face it, its not the first time a film took that type of stand and it is definitely not the last. People have to realize that around this time Japan was still overcoming the backlash of World War II. Therefore a bit of negativity may seep through in such a mainstream medium as film.

To be fair to actress Rika Aoki, I must say that her on-screen appeal was very satisfying. Although, I think in the right picture she could have embodied a more powerful sexual prowess and demeanor. I just didn’t feel it with this film. This is not to say that the two sequels, which Media Blasters has set to release on October 30th and December 18th, will not change my opinion. To be honest the trailers for these films, which can be found on the special features portion of this dvd, look even more entertaining and one hell of ride.

We have to also take into consideration that Media Blasters had a lot of balls to release all three of the films in the series. While the films may not deliver in the same way as the assortment of Pinky Violence films that Panik House released, they are still entertaining no matter which way you look at it. One could argue whether Matt Kennedy, formally of Panik House, made the right choice of releasing various films from several different series rather than complete collections. While Kennedy has debated that he decided to release the strongest films out of each series, it only makes fans of the films more anxious and frustrated when they can’t seem to get their hands on the rest of the films. Media Blasters on the other hand, has chosen to release all of the films in a thus-so-far average series. While I may have not been as big of a fan of the first RICA film, it has still made me want to wait patiently for the sequels to follow and I salute Media Blasters’ Exploitation Digital for making the decision to release them in this fashion.

All the above criticism, however, lies in an individual’s openness to accepting such cinematic problems and setting them aside for enjoyment purposes. We as people watch films to be entertained. Some viewers like to be challenged, while others just want to have a good time during the hour or two they spend watching a film. I will admit that RICA fits nicely into the entertainment viewpoint. Is the film great? By all means, of course not. Is the film entertaining? Sure, it is. Does it live up to the idea of a satisfying exploitation film? In a genre as entertaining and fun as Pinky Violence, I really would have liked to see something a bit stronger. But truthfully it really doesn’t hold me back from wanting more. I actually look forward to the two sequels and only hope that it goes uphill from here. Give me RICA 2: LONELY WANDERER, I have never been more ready for the challenge!