Death Ride to Osaka

Jennifer Jason Leigh takes aim in Death Ride to Osaka

Jonathan Kaplan's Death Ride to Osaka is a television exploitation film, from 1983, with unexpected moments of ambiguity and feeling. Jennifer Jason Leigh expertly plays Carol, an aspiring singer slinging hash on Hollywood Boulevard. Fresh off the bus from Omaha, the naive Carol accepts an offer to sing at a club in Tokyo. The club turns out to be run by the yakuza and the entertainers are expected to turn tricks on the side.

It is a bit odd to see a white slavery film from this juncture in history, but Kaplan never condescends to his material. The gangsters are portrayed in shades of gray except the always busy Mako who portrays an unrepentant thug. Where Kaplan really excels is the scenes between Leigh and the older bar girls, particularly Ann Jillian who tries to mentor Leigh's character. Jillian's performance is remarkable, the best from her I've yet seen, and the film never recovers after Jillian's character takes the titular trip to Osaka.

The lead male romantic interest is forgettable and Leigh (as she showed in Georgia) is not a strong vocalist, but Death Ride to Osaka is a cut above most TV movies of the era. Kaplan guided Jodie Foster to an Oscar for The Accused, but was never really able break out of working in television or exploitation films. He deserves more than a footnote for such notable efforts as Over the Edge, Heart Like a Wheel, and Unlawful Entry.