Following in the footsteps of TV anime Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and the films Jigen’s Gravestone and Goemon Ishikawa’s Spray of Blood, Fujiko Mine’s Lie is the newest film in the adult-aimed Lupin IIIrd series. While it lacks the copious amounts of nudity and ultraviolence of the previous two films (settling instead for a moderate amount), it twists expectations by focusing on Fujiko not as the epitome of a femme fatale, but as a mother to an orphan child.
Fujiko Mine’s Lie follows Fujiko as she tries to protect Jean–a child whose father stole a ridiculous sum of money from a mobster in order to pay for Jean’s heart condition. Smelling a quick score to be made, Fujiko infiltrates the single father’s household and acts as Jean’s nanny and surrogate mother. Yet her attempt at the long con is thrown into chaos as Vincome, the mobster’s personal assassin, comes after the trio. Now on the run with Jean’s father killed in the escape, Fujiko must keep the child alive…
…at least until she can learn where all that money is stashed, anyway.
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The film at large centers around the three groups trying to get the money. The first of these contains the Mobster, Vincome, and his two handlers–who are trying to capture Jean and then use Vincome’s mind control powers to get him to divulge the money’s location. The second group is Lupin and Jigen. Hired by a grieving Jean, they are promised the money’s location in exchange for getting revenge on the man who killed his parents. The final “group” is Fujiko herself who is attempting to get Jean to divulge the money’s location with the promise that they can then use the cash to start a new life as mother and son.
Jean, while young and emotionally shattered by his father’s death, is a smart kid. He knows that he has only one card to play to ensure his survival: the money’s location. As dependent as he is on Fujiko, he fears the worst: that she is just out for the money like everyone else. He desperately wants to believe what Fujiko is telling him–that they can become a real family–but every time he sees her use her feminine wiles or combat skills, he gets a glimpse of who she truly is.
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It’s hard not to hope for the same as Jean. Unfortunately, we know from 40 years of past Lupin III anime that Fujiko’s a fundamentally selfish character–that she’s gone the moment she gets what she wants. In many past series, however, we can somewhat turn a blind eye to this. After all, the majority of the time she’s screwing over some criminal worse than herself–or at least someone so rich that they can afford to lose whatever she is stealing.
Heck, even in the myriad of times she’s pulled one over on Lupin, it’s not really seen as an evil act: We, along with Fujiko and Lupin himself, know that he’s capable of overcoming any situation she gets him caught up in. However, there’s no such easy moral justification in Fujiko Mine’s Lie. She’s trying to steal from an orphan child with a heart condition before abandoning him. It’s truly heartbreaking. We want her to be better than we know her to be.
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For decades, Fujiko has stood out as one of anime’s most prominent sex symbols. There’s seemingly no man who can resist her charms–including the greatest thief in the world. But in this film, we see Fujiko not only as a femme fatale with ass-kicking skills to match her beauty but as a mother caring for a lonely child. To be frank, she’s great at it. Emotionally supportive and strict when she needs to be, she slides into the role as easy as any of the other aliases she has over the years. And this speaks deeply to Fujiko as a character.
Numerous times over the years we’ve seen her use sexual love–lust–to get what she wants. In this film, we see her do the same with familial love. But more than that, we see that, for Fujiko, love really is a weapon–sometimes literally.
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Vincome is a man-made monster. Through hypnotism and a lifetime of training, he has been forged into a tool for killing. Thus, he is completely unprepared to be facing off against someone who treats him as a man. A kind touch in response to violence, a revealing catsuit that awakens feelings he doesn’t understand–these are the weapons of Fujiko as much as any gun. She knows that fighting is as much mental as physical–and that if you win the mental game, you’ve all but certainly won the whole battle.
Perhaps it is because she views love as nothing more than a tool to get what she wants that she never goes all the way with Lupin. To Fujiko sex and even love are cheap–things she will willingly give away at any time to anyone if needed. But what she shares with Lupin is so much more.
The final scene of the film is a testament to this. Deep in the desert, a beaten and bloody Fujiko sits with Lupin, sharing a cigarette and watching the stars. After a bit, she falls asleep on his shoulder knowing she is safe–knowing he won’t try anything. To Fujiko, Lupin is far more important than lust or love. After all, love is transitory, Lupin is not.
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As is made clear in Fujiko Mine’s Lie, Fujiko really only wants two things: a life filled with pleasure and excess and to be remembered by those whose lives she passes through. And whose life has been more affected by hers than Lupin’s? He knows her truly–even down to the darkest reaches of her soul–and is still there for her. He doesn’t expect her to change and will continue to chase her eternally even knowing that she will continue to run.
And that is why she spends the night there, resting on Lupin’s shoulder–the two of them blanketed by the stars. It’s not part of some scheme, it’s simply where she wants to be.
…At least until the morning comes and their endless chase begins anew.
Lupin the Third: Fujiko Mine’s Lie was released in Japanese theaters on May 31, 2019. There is currently no word on a Western Release.
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