#Shohei Imamura

[shihlun]

Shohei Imamura

- Vengeance Is Mine

1979

[cinemaobscura]

Black Rain | 黒い雨 (1989) dir. Imamura Shōhei

[ecoamerica]

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[poesie-abstraite]

The Insect Woman

Shohei Imamura 1963

[gifmovie]

[davidhudson]

Shohei Imamura, September 15, 1926 – May 30, 2006.

[feedingahriman]

The Ballad of Narayama (1983) by Shōhei Imamura

[kaipanzero]

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge

赤い橋の下のぬるい水 (2001)

[strangeviceofmrslei]

[thedevils1971]

intentions of murder (1964) dir. shohei imamura

[dare-g]

Dr. Akagi (1998)

[shihlun]

Shohei Imamura

- Vengeance Is Mine

1979

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Vengeance Is Mine

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

Like many serial killer stories, Vengeance Is Mine begins with the discovery of a corpse. Assuming that a Korean immigrant has passed out drunk in her field, the farmer that spots the body sends one of her laborers to rouse the trespasser and chase him off the property. When the subordinate gets a closer look, however, she immediately shrieks in terror. “This guy ain’t sleeping, he’s dead!” she cries, before quickly adding, “And he ain’t Korean, he’s Japanese!”—as though the distinction makes any difference whatsoever.

Then again, viewers familiar with Japanese history will recognize the importance of that seemingly insignificant line of dialogue.

Having thus established its satirical tone, the film basically abandons the conventions of its genre. Director Shohei Imamura isn’t interested in the psychology of his villainous protagonist, nor does he particularly care about his motivations. Instead, he focuses on exploring the sociopolitical climate that enables the existence of such a monster: what kind of culture, he asks, allows a wanted conman and murderer to not only evade capture for seventy-eight days, but to do so almost effortlessly?

The answer: a country so thoroughly preoccupied with maintaining the superficial appearance of respectability that it can no longer recognize the rotten truth just beneath the surface. While Imamura doesn’t stoop so low as to blame the victims, every supporting character wears a façade of some sort—from the pious Catholic innkeeper (who secretly lusts after his daughter-in-law) to the successful textile manufacturer (who embezzles funds from his own company in order to financially support his mistress—who, by the way, he mercilessly abuses). This pervasive atmosphere of hypocrisy, repression, and moral decay makes it easy for Ken Ogata’s charismatic, chameleonic criminal to blend in with the crowd: merely donning a pair of eyeglasses, a three-piece suit, and a sheepish smile transforms him into a mathematics professor, a defense attorney, an aspiring real estate agent. And why should anybody question his (obviously fraudulent) identity? After all, he’s such a polite, soft-spoken man; surely his resemblance to that mugshot is a coincidence!

Combining the chillingly blunt violence of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and the darkly comic style (emphasis on dark) of American Psycho, Vengeance Is Mine is a genuine masterpiece of the cinema macabre; I won’t soon forget its rich thematic subtext.

[wetgeliscasualinterval]

Hogs and Warships (a.k.a. Pigs and Battleships) (1961) by Shohei Imamura

[byneddiedingo]

Sumiko Sakamoto and Shoichi Ozawa in The Pornographers (Shohei Imamura, 1966)

Cast: Shoichi Ozawa, Sumiko Sakamoto, Keiko Sagawa, Haruo Tanaka, Ganjiro Nakamura, Masaomi Kondo, Ichiro Sugai, Kazuo Kitamura. Screenplay: Shohei Imamura, Koji Numata, based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka. Cinematography: Shinsaku Himeda. Art direction: Hiromi Shiozawa, Ichiro Takada. Film editing: Mutsuo Tanji. Music: Toshiro Kusunoki, Toshiro Mayuzumi.

Fascinating. confusing, sometimes funny, and sometimes just a little repellent. Must be a Shohei Imamura film. I don't shock easily, but Imamura always keeps me on the edge of being shocked, mostly because I don't know how far he'll go next. In The Pornographers, we're dealing not only with the title subject but also with incest and prostitution and even abuse of the mentally challenged, while desperately trying to sort out the very confused life of Subuyan Ogata (Shoichi Ozawa). He is one of the pornographers of the title, and he lives with a widow, Haru (Sumiko Sakamoto), who thinks her dead husband has been reincarnated as the carp she keeps in a very confining fish tank. She has two nearly grown children: Koichi (Masaomi Kondo), who seems uncommonly attached to his mother, and Keiko (Keiko Sagawa), a rebel without a cause. Ogata is obsessed with Keiko, whom he has known since she was a little girl. Nothing good is going to come out of his relationship with the Matsuda family, of course, especially after Haru gets pregnant and goes insane. But figuring out the ins and outs of the film's plot, and even whether what we're watching is flashback or dream or fantasy is part of the essence of its fascination -- and its repellent quality. Imamura isn't quite like any filmmaker I know of.

[nixgraphics]

『神々の深き欲望』 Profound Desires of the Gods "Poster"

[davidhudson]

Poster for Pigs and Battleships (1962), directed by Shohei Imamura (September 15, 1926 – May 30, 2006), from Tony Stella.