The Beautiful series just seems to get better with each film. Beautiful Target was no exception and if you took out all the nudity and sleaze, this is the kind of movie I could easily see on American television.
Beautiful Target gets right into the action, letting you know exactly what it is about. A young Japanese girl is tied naked and is viewed through a video camera by a man who ends up raping and then stabbing her in the sternum with a chisel. We don’t get a look at the face, leaving us guessing just as much as the police do when they discover the body the next day. Kyoko, the coroner, tries to figure out if there are any clues through a series of very graphic examinations that seem perfectly suited for an unrated version of CSI, ER or the old Jack Klugman series, Quincy. With no clues, the police continue to be baffled when a second body-a prostitute, is discovered with the same fatal wound.
Now, it is up to the beautiful coroner and Natsumi, a uniquely attractive girl who was the second victim’s pimp, to solve the crime together. However, they most get past a very uneasy relationship with one another. Natsumi, whose original plan was to threaten Kyoko for information on her deceased worker so that she can properly distribute retribution; actually catches a glimpse of the killer, who has an obsession with Kyoko.
The killer leaves messages in his victims, for Kyoko, who must work with Natsumi to identify him. At the same time, Kyoko hopes that justice can work, turning to a hard nosed cop who is attracted to her.
This leads to good old-fashioned detective work that eventually leads Kyoko into the underground sex scene and eventually face to face with her assailant in a desperate battled between the two. While the discovery of the killer actually turns out to be a bit of a letdown, the quest to find him and the battle that ensues, is an exciting ride that kept me on the edge.
I really did enjoy this film. It was a lot of fun, despite the sleaze, which in this case, was not my cup of tea, but contributed very well to the story concept. I liked the realism of the autopsy and the sleuth ability of our heroes in the story, as they check out the strip joints, prostitution rings and other places of its type only to discover that their answer could lie in a store that exclusively sells the boots the killer where through mail order. I love the scene where Kyoko looks through the list of men who ordered the boots and says, “I’m looking for the man who broke my heart.”
That was a witty line played by a very good actress/voice actress (Yoho Natsuke/Carol Jacobanis). I also like how Kyoko gets a little caught up in the seedy atmosphere, enjoying and loathing it at the same time, even after her killer is caught. Her facial expressions tell the viewer more than a voice actress could convey.
In addition, I also liked the cultural innuendos that provided an interesting look at the methods of murder investigation in Japan. The people behind the film basically show murders in Japan are often related to a specific person, but recent history shows that Japanese murder crimes are becoming more random prompting Kyoko to wonder if that type of crime will continue. Though interesting and deep, her words produce a hilarious line as Kyoko’s cop friend listens to Kyoko’s question, to which he bluntly responds, “Well, that fuckin’ sucks.”
Overall, this movie brought a lot of great elements together; drama, cynical humor, suspense, action and even horror. I enjoyed what I saw from the start to the finish and would love to see more of Kyoko as she solves crimes and develops relationships with those around her. Now that I had the Beautiful Target in my sights, I just want more.
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