Crying Freeman 1995 Film Starring Mark Dacascos
Film Adaptation of Garphic Novel and Manga by the Same Name
Sep 23, 2009
Yo is the perfect killer who sheds a single tear for each one of his victims, and he is about to be changed by a chance encounter. His love will put him and his lover in danger as his enemies plot revenge and his masters grow jealous of his new love.
Crying Freeman's Plot and Characters
A young woman Emu O'Hara (Julie Condra) sits on a hill on the outskirts of San Francisco, California painting the landscape before her. She witnesses the death of a prominent member of the Yakuza, she turns and sees the assassin. Yo (Mark Dacascos) stands nearby, tears rolling down his cheeks, he introduces himself and then disappears.
It is later revealed that the assassin is known as the ‘Freeman’ and was under the control of a group known as the ‘Sons of the Dragons’. A rival group, the Hakushin Society led by Shido Shimazaki (Mako) inform the local police precinct, that a war between his clan and the Sons of the Dragons is inevitable. Interpol detective Netah (Tchéky Karyo) tells those in the precinct that there will be a bloodbath if they cannot catch the Freeman.
Outside the station Shimazaki and his bodyguards are ambushed and killed by the Freeman but not before O’Hara recognises him and whispers his name. The code of the Dragons means that there cannot be any witnesses who can identify the Freeman, Yo goes to her house but chooses not to kill her. Netah is watching the house when he encounters Ryuji Hanada (Masaya Kato) and wife Kimie Hanada (Yoko Shimada) who tell him that he needs to keep the authorities out of the way whilst they deal with the Freeman.
Yo's enemies close in as his own masters grow jealous of his love for another
The Perfect Killer
It seems that each Freeman carries a special curse, and the latest Freeman sheds a tear every time he takes a life (hence the name ‘Crying Freeman’). He is the perfect assassin and always succeeds in killing his intended target. However, the Sons of the Dragons are not happy with him after he decides not to kill O’Hara and begins a love affair.
The strength of Crying Freeman is the spectacularly choreographed fight sequences and the dazzling displays of martial arts. Mark Dacascos is an expert martial artist and is given plenty of space to flex those muscles during Crying Freeman. The role of Yo gives him the opportunity to take on legions of enemies whom he dispatches with a graceful and well honed efficiency.
The love story sub-plot may fall a little flat, actions fans may not be happy by the concept that the perfect assassin becomes softer as he falls in love. There are several instances later on in the film when he chooses to allow people he would previously have killed to live because they are just witnesses and are innocent.
O'Hara also does seem to be only thinking about herself, she recognises Yo but will not turn him in because she secretly wants him to kill her. So she doesn't care about the innocent lives that will be lost in the fight between Hakushin Society and the Sons of the Dragons just so long as she gets what she wants first.
As with many adaptations there are difference between the film and the graphic novel and the manga series. Fans of the manga may be unhappy by the Americanisation of the film, Emu O’Hara was a Japanese woman named Emu Hino in the manga, whereas in Crying Freeman she is Caucasian. The Sons of the Dragons also ultimately viewed the Freeman as being expendable in the film whereas in the manga he was not.
The differences between the manga and the film go on. However, action or martial arts fans who have never seen the manga (and who may not have even realised that there was one) will be able to enjoy the stunning martial arts on display but they may just yawn through the lovey-dovey moments.
8/10
Crying Freeman is a solid martial arts film with more than enough action to keep fans of the genre entertained.
 |
