Hiroshi Akutagawa

Night and Fog in Japan

Admin — Sun, 09 Oct 1960 00:00:00 +0000

Nagisa Oshima’s most personal film is a reflection by the director on his own disillusionment with the revolutionary student movement of the 1950’s and the failure of political radicalism. Taking it’s title (as a reference or homage) from Alain Resnais’ pivotal 1956 documentary Nuit et Brouillard, the film has a group of former student revolutionaries who meet again years later at the wedding of one of their classmates. Old feelings, rivalaries and grudges gradually erupt to the surface as the one-time friends recall the various treacheries by which their cause was defeated. Cutting between times past and the present, and unfolding the action from each of his characters viewpoints, Oshima creates an abstract and yet engrossing study of passions past and principles eroded. —Yume Pictures

The Rickshaw Man

Admin — Mon, 21 Apr 1958 00:00:00 +0000

The story of Muhōmatsu, a rickshaw man who becomes a surrogate father to the child of a recently widowed woman. 1958 remake of a 1943 film (same title, same director)

Where Chimneys Are Seen

Admin — Thu, 05 Mar 1953 00:00:00 +0000

Gosho’s most celebrated film both in Japan and the West, Where Chimneys Are Seen is perhaps the most compelling example of his concern for, and insights into, the everyday lives of lower-middle-class people. Based on Rinzo Shiina’s novel of the absurd, the film depicts the lives of two couples against the backdrop of Tokyo’s growing industrialization during the 1950s.

An Inlet of Muddy Water

Admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1953 00:00:00 +0000

Three short tales from stories by Ichiyo Higuchi. In one, a young woman is degraded by her family after an arranged marriage. Another deals with the troubles heaped upon a young servant by her family and the wealthy people who employ her. The final story tells of a prostitute and her hopes of finding a new, respectable life.