In the biography of Yasuzo Masumura found on the disc, Earl Jackson, Jr writes “In 1996, 84 year old Michelangelo Antonioni left his sick bed to attend the 10-day retrospective of Musumura’s films in Rome. Antonioni told reporters that Masumura had always been one of his personal favorites among world-class directors.” I can honestly see why. 

Which brings me to my review of the latest Yasuzo Masumura film to hit US shores on dvd, BLACK TEST CAR, courtesy of the folks at Fantoma Films, the only company it seems to have the smarts to release his films here in the states. Many directors always have one bad apple in their repertoire, however, I have yet to see anything shy of brilliant from the unsung hero of the Japanese New Wave. 

As with the majority of Masumura films the acting is always top notch. However, two actors clearly stand out among the rest; actor Jiro Tamiya as Asahina, the future successor to run the car company Tiger Corps and his girlfriend Masako played by actress Junko Kano. While often times Tamiya’s Asahina comes off as a complete jerk to his girlfriend he stands his ground by doing what he thinks is right to move him forward in the company. The results are hardly ever what he hopes for. Junko Kano sensationally shines in a role that could easily have stood out a decade later in the era of some truly powerful female leads such as Meiko Kaji and to an exploitation extent, Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike. By film’s end, Masako seems more brave if not braver than Asahina will ever be. As one character scrapes the bottom another rises to the top in a film that is always on its feet. 

Which leads me to the one aspect of the film, which really caught me off guard. BLACK TEST CAR is full of quite a few twists and turns, something that is rather abnormal for a Masumura picture. Nonetheless, this is far from being a bad thing. It makes the film all the more enjoyable to say the least. What is a film without a little bit of blackmail and double crossing and this one is full of it. These rival car companies must constantly outshine one another in ways both never thought possible. Masumura even gives us one final kick to the head that the viewer will never see coming. A beautifully created flashback reveals exactly how everything came to be and does a successful job of tying up any loose ends.

As expected, the cinematography is sensational in this film. Lensed by Yoshihisa Nakagawa, the man behind such masterworks as Kenji Fukasaku’s BLACK LIZARD, the film shines in nearly every scene thanks to his exquisite knack for visuals. Each shot is set up so perfectly and is a feast of eye candy for all of us to ravel in. Nakagawa catches every gesture, every grin, every laugh, and every tear, and brings it right us, the audience, so that we can feel what it’s like in their shoes. It is just simply breathtaking to watch. 

What Masumura excels at the most is drawing the viewer in and never letting go. His films are so highly inventive and breathtaking original that I look forward to every single release of this truly one-of-a-kind director. No other filmmaker can pull off what Masumura accomplishes in every film of his I have seen thus far. The man really does not know how to make a mediocre film and each film seems to surpass the next on some level or another. The great Michelangelo Antonioni was a fan for reason. I can often times even see shades of Antonioni in Masumura’s work and it would seem they consistently learned from each other from film to film. It no accident that Masumura studied film theory at Centro in Italy, which was the same school attended by some of the true greats of the Italian New Wave. 

As I had stated a while back in my RED ANGEL review, BLACK TEST CAR was announced quite a few years ago but hadn’t see the light of day until now. I can truthfully say that it was 100% worth waiting for. Here’s hoping that the top notch Fantoma Films gets their hands on many more of this astounding director’s films so they may find a new home in the hearts of those outside of Japan.