First Snow (2006)

"I saw... no more roads. No more tomorrows. Not much time left. "

At a glance:

Might as well smoke your heart out.

From the trio who wrote the script and screenplay of Children Of Men (2006), we get this very adequate thriller about just how far a man would go to change his fate. Suave salesman Jimmy Starks (Guy Pearce) is stranded in a small New Mexico town, waitin on the car repairman, so he humours himself with the services of bystandin soothsayer Vacaro (J.K. Simmons). Sure enough, the fortune teller's ominous readings start to come true before long and our disbelievin wheeler-dealer starts to panic. Movie title alludes to the time up until which Mr Starks has before he must die.

Bad news on the doorstep:

The reliable lead actor's character arc wins our attention and sympathy but the out-of-place antagonist Vincent (Shea Whigham) is either underwritten or overwritten because we don't really need him for this story. Piper Perabo is pretty pedestrian and she further shortchanges the pervos by not even takin off her bra in a mornin quickie as the girlfriend. Jeez girl, these guys have been waitin since Coyote Ugly (2000).

Perennial wonderment:

Guy Pearce

After decades of providin the star appeal that drives smaller but memorable films, Guy Pearce seems to have renewed his interest in mainstream Hollywood lately by takin on supportin roles in blockbusters e.g. Prometheus (2012) and the in-production Iron Man 3 (2013) . I saw the instantly forgettable Lockout (2012) last month and thought oh no, he's gone back to The Time Machine (2002) again. Perhaps his charmin rascal looks exclude him from classical leadin man opportunities, so he'll forever be remembered for his anti-hero or villainous turns in Memento (2000) and The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002). Someone should try castin him in an out-and-out good guy role and see what happens. By this I mean have him play alongside Brendan Fraser as a sensitive gay comedian.

"Nah, it's probably one of those Autodialers.
Lowest form of organic life, a Telemarketer."

Most memorable line:

“This road you’re on… you put yourself on this road… on this exact night. Who chose this? A man makes his destiny, right? Nothing makes the gods laugh harder."

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

I liked it. ★★★

Hana (2006) @ 花よりもなほ

"I don't wanna be a samurai. I just wanna have sex all day."

At a glance:

There are quite a few Japanese movie titles which start with "hana" (meanin "flower") and some of these simply get the short title when they reach other countries. It was tough to tell them all apart but this isn't the murder mystery I thought I was gonna watch! Somewhere in pathetic, rural Edo (old Tokyo) a few hundred years ago, a travellin samurai (Junichi Okada) stays in decrepit conditions as he struggles to locate his father's killer. Life however, is never that easy because nobody will give him respect until he performs that sacred task, except perhaps the hot widow-next-door, Osae (Rie Miyazawa) and his young son. As time goes by, the contemplative samurai discovers that the ancient codes seem to be a hindrance on the way by which he really wants to live his life.

Bad news on the doorstep:

"We have come to kill the LGBT community
that threatens our values!"

This movie is directed by Hirokazu Koreeda who is well-known for his morbid themes of death and loss - yet the movie explores these with the most annoyin lack of attention and sobriety. Although I have only read about his impressive line of movies, they certainly promise some hard-hittin drama. Did I miss the point, or does this movie simplu not translate well to foreign audiences?

I can't remember if I cried:

I wasn't kiddin about this bein
a lazy Sunday afternoon movie.

It's obvious the film isn't meant to be a silly farce but much of the story has been muddled by unhelpful sidetrackin and an excess of dialogue - or is it an excess of subtitles? This is definitely not your average samurai movie, what with its black humour and light overtones. The subject matter of the redundant samurai is sufficiently discussed but lacks any sort of cinematic impact for it to retain resonance. The 'boyband' samurai actor just couldn't carry any real pain or guilt in his performance. Also, too much of our attention is diverted to the village idiot, the lover of the landlord's wife and also other bit-part characters which gives the movie an episodic, lazy afternoon viewin feel.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

 Despite its rich historical and cultural details e.g. the (literally) shitty 17th century outhouse, the village plays and also a subplot on the famous 47-ronin story, this movie projects a stubborn lack of urgency. The directional kamikaze is finally committed when a dissatisfyin, all-too-pleasant endin was served.★★

Bordertown (2006)

"I've got some nasty plans for you."

Gregory Nava shot this and
never made another film since.

At a glance:

Recently I've watched a few movies like A Better Life (2011) and Trade (2007), so I thought I'd rehash this old review I wrote, considerin how its director, Gregory Nava, never made another film since! I remember it arrivin late to Malaysia in 2007 under Suraya Production. They even did a tie-up with some local charity body or women's rights NGO, not that it helped the collections any. Bordertown, like a lot of Nava's films, is about a specific real-life event affectin the Mexican diaspora in the United States.

The openin sequence states that U.S. companies are usin the North American Free Trade Agreement to open maquiladoras – assembly factories that exploit cheap Mexican labour (mostly women) to mass-produce goods for easy export back into the U.S. One border town is Juárez, noted as the second most important in the world (60,000 transits daily) after Tijuana.

Along comes our protagonist – Lauren (Jennifer Lopez), a career-minded Latino journo from Chicago who's eyein a big job but has to take on a dubious assignment first. This would be to investigate the high incidence of rape and murder in Juárez - somethin the government is reportedly coverin up. The story then becomes a struggle for Lauren to protect an escaped victim, Eva (Maya Zapata) with the help of an ex-colleague, Diaz (Antonio Banderas).

"Why the hell are you in this film with  me, Antonio?"

Bad news on the doorstep:

I admit I can't take J. Lo seriously in any film – well, perhaps that 1997 Selena biopic (under Nava, too) in which she was convincin, if only because she had considerably less attractive features than she does now. However, how should we take this indie film, when she has produced it herself and gained recognition from Amnesty International for it? While we can give full marks to J. Lo for apparently takin a genuine interest in the political issue at hand, the translation to film is problematic once you get past the theme. Not only is it two-dimensional (indies usually are when it's a labour of love) for positively blamin the murders on very specific parties, it doesn't have substance of direction. The scenes are messy, the actin contrived. The situation is made worse if you consider this as an isolated story which needed a strong universal element for audiences to identify with the tragedy of the slain women. Lopez could've aced this, playin Lauren, the power-hungry American journo who wanted fame but found meanin in her work. Sadly her role and the victim's are both underwritten, not to mention the many detractin bits which do nothin for the story, the biggest bein the part of Antonio Banderas!

"Judgin by the size of this juicy maggot, I'd say 2-2 days."

Perennial wonderment:

Is Salma Hayek or J.Lo better in bed? If you've ever seen Frida (2002), you'd say it's the former.

Reminds me of:

Erin Brockovich (2000), Maria Full Of Grace (2004), Traffic (2000) and Trade (2007).

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

I've no doubt this should have been shot as a documentary instead of even riskin it seen as a J. Lo vehicle for cementin herself as a serious actress. Bordertown has good intentions but is flawed by inaccessible specifics that struggle to make us care. ★★

Cold Prey (2006) @ Fritt Vilt

Ingrid Bolsø Berdal plays Jannicke, a holidaymakin snowboarder turned badass ball-breaker.

At a glance:

In conjunction with the release of Oren Peli's Chernobyl Diaries (2012) in which features Fritt Vitt lead Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, let's revisit this successful Norwegian flick that proved enough to form the basis of a survivor horror trilogy. The official website is still up today! The story? Same old genre retread built around a bunch of attractive young people trapped in an abandoned hotel in the snowy mountains with an unknown killer on the loose.

Ingrid lookin like hot prey at the Amanda Awards
where she took Best Actress for this role.
That's the Norwegian Oscars, you philistine.

Bad news on the doorstep:

We've seen it all before. If you're a horror movie fan that has been numbed by the Hills Have Eyes series, the Halloween series, the Scream series, the I Know What You Did Last Summer series, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series, the Wrong Turn series - then jog on because it's painfully predictable, with a slow buildup to boot. This movie got the attention it did perhaps only because it was a Norwegian product that was actually so similar to American slashers in that mould (read: that it was technically on par with them). There isn't much locational detail either, somethin that would've added curio value to it. Even the soundtrack, which was admittedly pretty decent, was in English.

Perennial wonderment:

Will we ever see better ice-set horror movies than The Thing (1982) and The Shining (1980)? Please drop me a comment for recommended viewin. Hmm that reminds me, I still ain't watched my copy of Bikini Girls On Ice (2009).

"Fuck me, there goes my new nails."

Reminds me of:

See long list above. By the way, the region is called Jotunheimen and that makes me think of a painted pussy.

Most memorable line:

None.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Committed performance by the cast but unfortunately nothin terribly compellin here. Watch the sequel - it bears the rare cinematic distinction of bein actually better than the first movie. Must be a Norwegian thing - it sure never happens in Hollywood.

Bonus material:

Director & scribe Roar Uthaug empowers Ingrid Bolsø Berdal.

Kamome Diner (2006) @ かもめ食堂

"Wanna try our kopi luak?

At a glance:
The people from the Land Of The Rising Sun tryin to carve out a life in the Land Of The Midnight Sun – it can't get more ironic than that! Yet, Kamome Diner かもめ食堂 isn’t about dissent or conflict; instead it’s about celebratin the wonderful details in life which escape us every day. You can read on its official website (still up today!) that the story is based on a novel written by popular writer Yoko Mure who apparently has countless female fans for her emotional portrayal of people livin modest lives. Mure wrote the full-length novel in response to the film’s idea for production. It’s said to be an unusual novel, which fully captures the atmosphere of the city’s street corner, although Mure herself has never been to Finland (which by the way, is apparently the closest European country to Japan via a 10 hour flight from Tokyo). Sachie (Satomi Kobayashi) is a Japanese woman who runs a diner (she insists it’s not a restaurant because "that’s too formal") in Helsinki, Finland. Nobody visits her Kamome (Japanese for 'seagull') diner except Tommi, a young blonde Finn who loves Japanese manga. Soon Sachie meets Midori (Hairi Katagiri), an awkward woman who lands in Helsinki with no real reason. The two make quick friends as business start to pick up due to their patient, unassumin approach to the locals. When lost 'tourist' Masako (Masako Motai) joins the fray, these Japanese women truly find the meanin of life, as they realise that everythin which is important usually isn’t!
Bad news on the doorstep:

None, really. I could write that synopsis a hundred times but still wouldn’t capture the precise flavour of the film. That’s because Kamome Diner is such a quiet little gem of a movie that offers somethin for every kind of viewer. It’s drama, it’s comedy and sometimes even social commentary – but whatever it is, it’s very gentle and dignified, never succumbin to pushy, message-driven plot devices. The performances here are top-notch, my favourite being the maternal Masako Motai (fabulous in director Naoko Ogigami’s first feature film Yoshino’s Barber Shop – but take nothin away from the cast because everyone delivered a satisfyin dimension to the film.
Perennial wonderment:
How do you sing the theme song to the Gatchaman cartoon (G-Force to Malaysian kids in the 80s)?

Reminds me of:

Director Naoko Ogigami's other movie that I enjoyed - Yoshino's Barber Shop (2004) @ バーバー吉野. This one's better, though.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
With its host of colourful, quirky and mostly rootless characters, it’s difficult not to find yourself fixated on the story, despite there not being much of one! Everythin happens by chance and people come largely unexplained. This makes it fun to watch because the character build-up is more gradual and natural, much like how we talk to strangers. The entire film could be said to be a conversation between strangers – and we don’t need to be bogged down by the harsh realities of distrust. The characters take each other as they are – and invite us to do the same. Shot with such delightful and rich observations on geography and society, the film has immense international appeal. Kamome Diner opens doors and builds bridges, invitin people in for a look at what’s on the cultural menu, without askin for too much thought or attention. We feel optimistic about life again and for once, feel-good cinema never felt so easy to believe. ★★★ 1/2

Trailer for the curious:

Cease Fire (2006) @ آتش بس

At a glance:

Please pardon my ignorant Hakka ass if you find this review culturally insensitive - but I do know a thing or two about movies and this is what I believe. When I read that the director for Cease Fire (2006) @ آتش بس is Tahmineh Milāni the foremost feminist face of Iran to the Western world, I knew that the film would be difficult to watch. Jailed for her socio-political activism, I foresaw 120-odd minutes of gender politickin, thinly veiled behind a rom-com settin of urban Iran.
Bad news on the doorstep:

"If you love me, I kill you."

Never would I expect that it was much was much worse – Milani did not even achieve her ideological projection through the film, at least to this reviewer. Her idea of pairin pretty faces Mohammad Reza Golzar and Mahnaz Afshar in a mainstream release is reported to have gone down, at one point, as the best sellin movie in Iranian history, although I wouldn’t be able to verify this. What is certain though is that Cease Fire is one of the most intolerable “good” movies that I have ever come across, in the sense that it is technically sound and yet conceptually difficult to watch. Not that we could complain of not bein able to understand Farsi – the subtitles seem competent enough (although a cat-and-mouse analogy involvin the Chinese Year Of The Cat is suspect). It’s simply the sheer tedium of havin to watch a couple play out the unbelievable premise that the two are together still despite hatin each other so very, very much. For a rom-com to sustain itself, we need to root for its characters or understand the motivation behind their actions. Here we are put through endless scenes of ridiculous domestic squabbles, so much so that it stretches film logic.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

If one could bear with such reckless story-tellin, challenge yourself further by learnin how this movie’s credits mention how it is based on an Italian self-help book, “Recovery Of Your Inner Child”, and goes on the extremely literal approach of expoundin it. Sayeh and Yousef goin about cuttin up each other’s clothes and sawin off their matrimonial bed in two isn’t only outrageously childish – it represents a diversion that discredits the story. Cease Fire should be consigned to Farsi-speakin audiences who want to watch some comedy for a change. For others who do not accept that things may be lost in translation, it may go so far as to be deemed irresponsible filmmakin. One and a half stars.

Trailer for the curious:

Mystery Of The Wolf (2006) @ Suden Arvoitus

At a glance:
Raimo Niemi's Finnish family movie has some breathtakin shots of the Nordic woodlands. While it ain't exactly an offbeat TV movie, Suden Arvoitus is definitely more mystery than wolf - leadin to a general shortchange for anybody hopin for somethin more epic like White Fang (1991) or Call Of The Wild (1972). After a prologue by the river about a fishin accident, we fast-forward 11 years to when young Salla (Tiia Talvisara, pic) is now mothered by someone else (Miia Nuutila) other than her own (Vuokko Hovatta). The rebellious girl shares quite a few character traits with wolves. She has to work her way through the complicated social structure of her small mountain village and also deal with the return of her estranged mother. Soon, she finds herself fightin against time to save a pair of wolf cubs that are bein tracked by the village hunter Venesmaa (Peter Frenzen).

Bad news on the doorstep:
The shortchangin comes when the audience watches Salla retaliate against her mother by insistin that she sighted wolves and not huskies at the hills. What's the fuss about? This is because you will discover it is indeed true that wolves were not employed in the movie - merely wolfdogs, a sort of hybrid animal which results when wolves and dogs fuck. So if you were duped into marvellin at how Niemi managed to shoot so many glorious shots with the notorious canines, this little information might dent your impression on the showmanship of the film.
Perennial wonderment:
Child stars - what can you say, eh? Either you make it or you don't. IMDb doesn't list young Talvisara in anythin after this movie. The young Finn does possess some mystical aura to her (a kind of beastly quality) and uses it to good effect when the story suggests the equality of wolf and man. However, the suggestion is unfortunately, simply that – a suggestion. No more is explored. Salla's wrestle with her biological identity and her place in the world is only of token value.
Reminds me of:
European woodlands. Wish I lost more of me in there.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Peter Frenzen as the detestable Venesmaa injects some menace into an otherwise largely uneventful movie. While Suden Arvoitus doesn't do a complete disservice to the depiction of the wolves, the simplistic interplay between the human characters fails to pack a better punch, if you would pardon the pun. Ironically, Mystery Of The Wolf had little mystery, if at all. ★★ 1/2

Gradiva (2006) @ C'est Gradiva Qui Vous Appelle

"My dear, what the fuck are you doin?"

At a glance:
Gradiva introduces an archaeologist (James Wilby) to us, then sets him off on a chase for mysterious titular girl (doubles up as Leila, played by gorgeous veteran French-American actress Arielle Dombastle) while beddin his slave girl Belkis (Dany Verissimo) at every other go. This pretty much forms the plot for a person watchin it on operational terms. Oh and there's plenty of artsy frontal nudity and S&M violence, which is why it's R21 in Singapore.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Difficult to review Surrealist films, especially when Dali paintings escape even the more curious of the non-commercial cinemagoers today in this region. How then do I make heads and tails of a movie so intentionally disjointed, confusin and artsy such as C'est Gradiva Qui Vous Appelle? Gradiva may be callin all right – but it's very difficult to answer. This octogenarian director apparently makes films that make sense to nobody but himself. Oh wait a minute - it's all over, he died last year.
I can't remember if I cried:

When I realised the story is told with little regard for audience understandin. Which bit is a dream allegory? Which bit is the true timeline? Only director Alain Robbe-Grillet and film students would know, I suppose. To others, Gradiva is a 110-minute long indulgence.
Reminds me of:
The dodgy stadium-style Singaporean cinema I watched it in. Reeked of spunk.
Watch out for:
Dany Verissimo (without which the movie would've been unbearable), the sultry actress you might recognise from District 13 @ Banlieue 13 as pistol-packin Lola. She took off her knickers and stuffed it into some bloke's mouth while pointin the gun at his face, I vaguely recall.

"Why, yes. You're quite right. This movie makes no fuckin sense."

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
One? Perhaps a worthy piece for feminist academic study but even for art house fans, a production such as this is best confined to your collection of quirky DVDs or to the local grindhouse, assumin of course it's the R-rated kind. Can't decide which is the least rewardin watch - The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes (2005), Gradiva or the paint dryin from my bedroom wall. Then again, Dany Verissimo isn't painted on my bedroom wall.

Hidden Floor (2006) @ 네번째 층

At a glance:
Written by Yoo Il-han, the same man behind accompaniments Roommates, 29 February and Dark Forest - all which form an unrelated tetralogy of horror tales that did release in Malaysia back in 2007. It's evident from all four movies that Yoo does have a penchant for confined eeriness but the film adaptation for this one is technically insufficient to convey and extend that talent. Sufferin from the lack of impact is this story of a single mum and her daughter, both whom find the experience of stayin in a new apartment frightenin when a missin floor in the buildin seems to be the answer behind a spate of mysterious deaths.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Claustrophobic direction fails to double up with anythin original in its execution. Very little effort is made to expand beyond the traditional long-haired, bare-footed woman ghost and drippin faucets, not to mention the age-old 'oh-no-it's-the-same-floor-wherever-I-go' deja vu. Jerky body movements a la Ju-On are sparingly used, interwoven mostly between a semi-useful character development of its central characters - the mother, played by Kim Seo-hyeong (pic) and the daughter, played by Kim Yoo-jeong. Although the child actor offered more than a competent performance, so cliche is the relationship between the two (think the original Japanese Dark Water and Maria Bello's Welsh legend story The Dark) that their fate becomes suggestively pointless.
Perennial wonderment:
Succeeds in at least one department like Hollywood horror staples Saw and Psycho did - how a lot of action goes on in confined spaces. This limitation of parameters has become a proven formula in generatin fear and terror because people put in a suffocatin environment tend to have a greater sense of imagination, most of it negative.
Reminds me of:
Fuckin ghosts man, what else.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?K-horror is fuckin tedious, what can I say. While J-horrors prefer to centre on haunted objects or buildings, Korean ones tend to add an extra dimension by placin motive as an equally important plot device as well. However, in the same way a new object must be found to put a ghost into, motives need to diversify as well. Two stars is fair.

Cafe Setareh (2006) @ کافه ستاره

At a glance:
Almost a noir, this is yet another feministic foray into filmmakin from Iran, this time with bleaker consequences. Recallin storytellin techniques from 1994's Pulp Fiction (alright, I'm kiddin! and themes from The Hours, (2002) one finds the three women in the titular cafe to be at once interestin because they could be anybody in downtown Tehran - a old cafe manageress, a middle-aged landlady and a young, dreamy girl dyin for some excitement in her life. Story is told in three parts, each section headed by the three women's names; Fariba, Salome and Molook. Some melodrama is on offer but the progression in Cafe Setareh is captivatin if you are interested in how each of the embattled women deal with their problems in their very own way. Old hag Fariba (Afsaneh Baygan) is willingly extorted daily by her gangster husband, just so she could enjoy the dubious honour of lettin it be known that she is married - gulp! Fortysomethin Molook (Roya Teimourian), itchin to don a weddin veil, stoops very low to try and secure herself a young man for marriage instead of expandin her business. Virginal Salome on the other hand, contemplates marriage to a truly detestable man when her original lover is away in jail, just because she doesn't want to disappoint a father who wants to see her married. Bad, bad men!
Bad news on the doorstep:
Such is the slow-burnin oppression that pervades the drama. Are there solutions being offered? The women in Cafe Setareh hack it out in an urban jungle among disillusioned men, sometimes to carve some sort of meanin into their lives but often just to get to the next day. The film thankfully avoids didactic sympathy baits and can be commended for having the good sense to shock viewers with some unlikely turns. Yet, while bein technically accomplished, it rarely rises to the level of entertainment that can go down as truly memorable.
Perennial wonderment:
Can someone introduce to me an Iranian movie that's "American", so to speak?
Most memorable line:
Fariba: "Yes, let the neighbours know my husband is beatin me up. At least they know I have a man."
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
I feel very unqualified and perhaps hypocritical for judgin this piece of work. I mean, who the fuck am I to judge a country and its standards, especially when I ain't stepped foot in it? However, as a film, perhaps the Iranian industry (?) can congratulate their movies for now havin equalled if not surpassed production standards of many non-first world countries. Cafe Setareh is a strong testament to that distinction. ★★★

Mukhsin (2006)

At a glance:
The quieter of her works, Mukhsin is a sun-bleached testament to the late advertisin icon Yasmin Ahmad's talent for the structured, substantial and quaintly inspirin but ultimately indulgent, didactic and unreflective. Movie is a muted countryside love story between two kids - one a tomboy tree-climber of a girl and the other, the titular character, a boy who just moved into the area.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Why don't I like it? I hate almost every character. I'll beat them all up if I had the chance.
Watch out for:
A prayer scene containin a Koranic extract, used to highlight and condemn the bitchin and the provincial mentality of the antagonists in the movie. Thought this was a little too Yasmin for me.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
I'll go for ★★ 1/2 but I really could hate this movie a lot more. There's a reason why most of Yasmin's detractors are what I regard as the fundamentalist Malays and why her work manages to win over young Chinese and Indian audiences who never watch Malaysian movies. It's because her characters are all social tools to fuck the status quo. Her content is really mengada-ngada incendiary sometimes. Oh well, rest in peace anyway.

Love And Honor (2006) @ 武士の一分

Did she just prostitute the family pride for 30 koku of rice?

At a glance:

Rei Dan 檀れい as Kayo

Wonderful – the finer points of dyin are again available on general release! When do we die? Why do we die? How should we die? In a year of movie trilogies (some would hope they stop at just the three), Yoji Yamada puts forth Love And Honor 武士の一分 (2006) the third film of his samurai series after Twilight Samurai(2002) and Hidden Blade (2004). The billin for this movie could almost fool someone into thinking it might resemble that Tom Cruise Hollywood schlock, The Last Samurai, especially its choice of English titlin, but all the solid, subtle elements of arthouse cinema are thankfully retained. The skinny? In feudal Japan, official Court taster Shinnojo Mimura lives with his wife, Kayo, in the palace town. They get by comfortably enough with his 30-koku (enough rice to feed one person for one year) annual salary, although he had always wanted somethin more challengin, like openin a kendo dojo to teach young kids. Tragedy strikes by way of fish [spoilers] – a sashimi dish was prepared poorly and Shimmojo is poisoned. Upon recovery, he discovers he's blind. Kayo and concerned relatives fuss over the fate of the couple, as Shinnojo is now rendered useless in the palace town and his wife wants to work (big no-no). Fortune favours the blind samurai when palace officials issue a decree which would support him for life but Kayo is implicated in a possible sex-for-food trade-off with one pervy Chief Duty Officer. Did she just prostitute the family pride for 30 koku of rice? Disgraced, Shinnojo divorces her without investigatin further, and challenges the 'receivin' official to a sword duel. Yet, there's still a way out for everyone.