With an arresting mix of eroticism and horror, Oshima plunges the viewer into a nightmarish tale of guilt and retribution in Empire of Passion (Ai no borei). Set in a Japanese village at the end of the nineteenth century, the film details the emotional and physical downfall of a married woman (Kazuko Yoshiyuki) and her younger lover (Tatsuya Fuji) following their decision to murder her husband and dump his body in a well. Empire of Passion was Oshima’s only true kaidan (Japanese ghost story), and the film, a savage, unrelenting experience, earned him the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival. —The Criterion Collection
Nagisa Oshima’s career extends from the initiation of the “Nuberu bagu” (New Wave) movement in Japanese cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s, to the contemporary use of cinema and television to express paradoxes in modern society. After an early involvement with the student protest movement in Kyoto, Oshima rose rapidly in the Shochiku company from the status of apprentice in 1954 to that of director. By 1960, he had grown disillusioned with the traditional studio production policies and broke away from Shochiku to form his own independent production company, Sozosha, in 1965. With other Japanese New Wave filmmakers like Masahiro Shinoda, Shohei Imamura and Yoshishige Yoshida, Oshima reacted against the humanistic style and subject matter of directors like Yasujiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa, as well as against established left-wing political movements. Oshima has been primarily concerned with depicting the contradictions and tensions of postwar Japanese society. His… read more
if i may say so, the rape scene almost put me off the film. it seems more misogynist than anything in realm of the senses
Exactly what I needed. Ghostly. Beautifully composed. Sexually charged. It was as if a village elder sat me down at a campfire and told me this bizarre tale of guilt and obsession.
Extraordinario film de Nagisa Oshima. Clasico del cine japonès de los 70, este film fantasmal pleno de sutil erotismo y critica social trasciende las convenciones del cine de horror y resulta ser toda una experiencia audiovisual. La musica de Toru Takemitsu no tiene madre.
The 62nd Locarno International Film Festival has wrapped tonight with its awards ceremony and the world premiere of Byambasuren Davaa
By the mid-70s, the pillar native genres of American cinema, such as film noir, had found a new life in Japan. This has been attributed to the movies screened for Japanese POWs during WWII, but the… read review
Bought this as a Blind Buy based on DVDBeaver’s review. I don’t know anything about this director but I’ll tell you this every single shot and camera angle is magnificently set up. I couldn’t believe… read review