Pale Flower (乾いた花, Kawaita hana) is a 1964 Japanese film noir directed by Masahiro Shinoda.
At an illegal gambling parlor, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious young woman named Saeko (Mariko Kaga).
[1] Film critic Roger Ebert gave Pale Flower four stars and placed it on his list of Great Movies.
[2] Muraki, a hard-boiled Yakuza gangster, has been released from prison after serving a sentence for murdering Kijima, a rival gang member.
At an illegal gambling parlor, he bets a large sum of money and loses to Saeko, a young upper-class woman who drives fast cars.
Muraki takes Saeko to a high-stakes gambling den at Aikawa's inn in Tsunamachi, Tokyo, where she wins another large sum of money.
[4] The film's focus on visuals and sound over dialogue prompted screenwriter Masaru Baba to complain to managers at Shochiku.
"[7] In 2022, filmmaker Michael Mann included the film in his personal top ten for Sight and Sound, writing: "For its incredible opening scenes alone.