Tracked – Usugesho (1985)

Directed by: Hideo Gosha | 124 minutes | drama | Actors: Ken Ogata, Atsuko Asano, Mariko Fuji, Kazuyo Asari, Nagare Hagiwara, Tokue Hanazawa, TakuzoKawatani, Nenji Kobayashi

‘at night. An explosion. A figure dashes like a hare wind through a narrow alley. In the next shot, the same figure is in a cell, where he is dealt with harshly by a bunch of cops. Tokichi Sakane, the suspect, escapes and is from then on a fugitive traveling through Japan. The perfect starting point for a thriller, but ‘Tracked’ certainly isn’t. Rather a sad morality sketch of someone who gives free rein to his urges.

Damn hard to get a little feel for the Sakane character. The man is a very unpleasant person to say the least. A ruse more or less does not bother him. In the event of a mining disaster, he initially stands up for the victims. After an interview with the bosses, however, he squeezes back a lot of money from the auxiliary fund. Useful for hunting women. For that is the true face of Sakane, an incorrigible womanizer. Even in the presence of his wife, he flirts happily. Women only exist as objects for him. A romantic without a heart. During the film, he is often referred to as a snake. He is a sneaky slippery man, who sees animal stimuli as the highest good. And this subject has even more on his plate because his wife and child have disappeared without a trace. Does he have a hand in this too?

Told in a regular chronological order, ‘Tracked’ would be no more than your average weekend movie. But director Hideo Gosha turns it into a narrative puzzle where the pieces click together towards the end. The viewer gets lost in the rational labyrinth of the main character. The flashbacks show a scary man whose only feeling hangs between his legs and as a wandering soul we see a somewhat calm Sakane who has more or less repressed his tormentors. Or does lust and fury override reason again? Gosha tickles the viewer with demonic pleasure. Pay special attention to the scene with the little girl.

Another asset is the portrayal of Ken Ogata. With a crackling rendition he pulls the entire film to himself. At times with outbursts of anger, at other times bombastic and obsequious or subdued. The box of finesse simply doesn’t get exhausted with this heavyweight of Japanese cinema. Ogata passed away in 2008 and is best known for his role in ‘Vengeance is Mine’. During his lavish career, he starred in films by Peter Greenaway and Paul Schrader. ‘Tracked’ (‘Usugesho’) is based on a series of murders that startled the Land of the Rising Sun in 1949. This post-war era is personified by Sakane hopping from one job to another. The country is under construction, but the years are not yet great. Another example are the houses reminiscent of the time of the samurai and far removed from progress. The only sign of modernity is the radio in the protagonist’s house. However, it doesn’t last long either. Perhaps an allegory that the wounds of World War II had to heal before Japan could rise again as a nation? This print is in any case better to pear than the tasteless noodles from the Jumbo.