Film Review – Lone Wolf And Cub #2 – Baby Cart At The River Styx

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1972 – spoiler alerts. Part two of the epic sextet bloodfest. Itto’s activity leads to his enemies putting a bounty on his head which a group of deadly acrobatic female assassins try to claim. Itto slaughters all but one of them, and she retreats from her efforts to kill him in recognizing his martial arts power and genuine maternal concern for his son. Itto is hired to deal with a traitor from a village of indigo dye makers, as he is trying to sell their exclusive trade secrets. The traitor is protected by assassins calling themselves The Gods Of Death. Itto takes them on in a climatic desert fight that is truly extra-ordinary. There are touching moments amidst the violence such as the cub fetching fresh river water for his wounded father by carrying it in his mouth. In one scene it looks as if Itto is going to rape a woman, but he is just getting her and himself out of their wet clothes before they freeze to death. The Japanese title is mistranslated to associate the river with the Greek myths of the Styx. The river in the film is actually the Sanzu. Arthur Chappell