An Actor’s Revenge

A wildly melodramatic tale of a kabuki onnagata (a male actor who plays female roles), who exacts a long-delayed retribution on the men who drove his parents to suicide. When he discovers that the mastermind behind those crimes has come to see him act onstage, he begins in earnest to plot his revenge. With the help of a renowned thief named Yamitaro, he makes out his first target: the daughter of the man who orchestrated his parents’ demise. Kazuo Hasegawa plays the dual role of the actor and the thief in a film which celebrated his 300th screen appearance. A heady mixture of swooning romanticism and stylised action, with a soundtrack that ranges from traditional Japanese music to lush Hollywood strings and cocktail jazz: An Actor’s Revenge is a cinematic tour de force.