Nippon rising
Paul Dale takes a trip to Wild Japan, a place where vengeful ladies, pathological swordsmen and horny nuns rule. He is almost overcome by the thrill of it.
l/(l ./(l[)(lll.' ()lll/(lll' .lluslr'i‘s is a Bl"! 'l'ouring
programmc ol' twclyc ol‘ thc most
extraordinary films you may cycr hayc thc chancc to scc. This sclcction ol‘ .lapancsc cult l'ilms madc hctwccn 1963 and 1077 coycrs most hascs. l‘rom wcstcrns to gangstcr and mclodrama. but it is thc cxccss with which thcsc rcmarkahlc lilttttttakct's dcal with the paramctcrs ol' thcir choscn gcnrc that rcally titillatcs. l’alling upon thcsc lilms al'tcr witncssing thcir yaguc approximations hy lilmmakcrs as diycrsc as Alcxandro .lodorowsky. ()ucntin 'l‘arantino. Miikc 'l‘akcs’hi. 'l‘akcshi Kitano and Stanlcy Kubrick l'l'oshio Matsumoto‘s honkcrs 1969 rctclling ol’ thc ()cdipus myth l-imcml l’ui‘urlr' o/‘Rmr’s is rumourcd to hayc hccn a dircct inl’lucncc on A ('lm'loi'nrk ()mngr'l onc finally undcrstands how thc grcat (icrman artist .\la.\ Bcckmann intist hayc l‘clt whcn hc rantcd at thc world that: ‘My hcart hcats morc tor a raw. aycragc yulgar art.’
'l‘hc pcrycrsc pcculiaritics and tragcdics ol' Japan's rcccnt history hrcathc through thcsc l‘ilms. 'l‘akc Noril'umi Suzuki's trcmcndous nunsploitation l'lick School (if the Holy Ilr'risl. Hcrc’s a film that camc ahout. likc Shunya Ito's I'k'iiiu/r' ('niii'ir-I .S'r'ur/iioii lthc lilm that inspircd 'l‘arantino‘s Kill Iii/l lilms). at a timc in l‘)7()s whcn Japancsc cincma was struggling to compctc with tclcyision. 'l'hc 'l'oci Studio in Tokyo dccidcd that thc only answer was to producc a scrics ol’ 'crotic grotcsquc‘ lilms (which hccamc thc Nikkatsu Roman porno scrics). Both lilms arc awash with thc kind ol’ dclinqucncy. torturc. mutilation and pornography that is only acccssihlc through distortion of rcality. th both films also dcal with social thcmcs
42 THE LIST ’t’; No; 1.1!)uij/‘C'i"
KUROSAWA OR OZU WOULD NOT HAVE TOUCHED THEM WITH A SHITTY STICK.
that Kurosawa or ()/u would not hayc touchcd with a shitty stick l‘or l'car ol‘ sccing thcir carccrs l‘lushcd down thc toilct. 'l'hcmcs likc thc ahandonmcnt hy- Romc ol’ thc Nagasaki ('atholics al'tcr thc A Bomh was droppcd in Holy BULK]. or thc sadistic. scll‘ dcl'ccating imhccility ol .lapan‘s ruling classcs in I-k'iiiulc ('niirir'i. In l'act all thcsc lilms hcrc hayc thcir hiddcn surpriscs l‘rom .lignkii. .\'ohuo Nakagawa‘s hcllish rill on his country's moral dcclinc or .\'ohuo ()hayashi‘s pop-art spook mansion show llllll.\ll. Whilc Masahiro Shinoda’s I’u/r' l-‘luu'r'i'. Scijun Sit/liki's Bram/ml 'Iii Kill. Kcnji [full/c Rut‘rl/c i'itlkttsttktt's iii/(lift! (ii‘ui'c_\'ui'(l. liiichi Kudo's austcrc. consumptch 'I'lir' (ii'r'ui .llr'lw and Kihachi ()kamoto's outstandingly paranoid Sir-(ml iii" l)()()lll rc—imaginc thc yakusa and samurai lilm tcmplatcs with thc kind ol' dcrangcmcnt that Rogcr ('orman in his hcyday could hayc only drcamt ol‘.
Also no scason likc this would hc complctc without a hlind swordsman or a dclinqucnt girl gang moyic and thcsc arc indccd dcliciously cyidcnt in 'l'oku/o 'I‘anaka‘s Zulu/chi I/Il’ l'iigirirt' and Yasuharu llaschc's .S'Ii'uy ('u/ Row/t; Sm [INN/('l' (piclurcdl rcspcctiycly. Anway this is not a round tip. it's morc a plca to your inncr lrcak to Visit ll'i/rl .lu/mii. cycn il‘ it is just oncc or twicc. l’or thcsc arc rarc. hold. \lltti. \‘itupcratiyc lilms that will rcmind you why cincma can hc thc most wondrous ol things.
Wild Japan: Outlaw Masters is at Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 1 Dec-Sun 11 Dec only and at GFT, Glasgow from Tue 9 Jan 2007. www.bfi.org.uk/wildjapan
* Stranger Than Fiction Wonderfully postmodern comedy about a taxman (Will Ferrell) who starts hearing a voice in his head. See review. page 43. General release from Fri 7 Dec.
* Manhattan Woody Allen 1979 masterpiece gets a new print makeover for Christmas. Joy of joys. See review. page 44. Fi/mhouse. Edinburgh from Fri 8 Dec.
* The US vs John Lennon Engrossing documentary portrait of the former Beatle as political activist using extensive archive footage. See profile. in Index and review. page 43. Selected release from Fri 8 Dec. * London to Brighton Moody. brutal and singular English gangster flick. See review. page 44. GFT. Glasgow 8 Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 7 Dec.
* Shortbus Excellently filthy reaffirmation of sex. love and being a New Yorker from the writer and director of Hedwig and the Angy inch. See interview. page 59 and review. page 60 in Gay section. Film/rouse, Edinburgh from Fri 7 Dec.
* Wild Japan: Outlaw Masters Glorious t2-film season of some truly classic Japanese Cult films. See feature, left. Film/rouse. Edinburgh from Fri 7 Dec—Sun 10 Dec.
* Pan’s Labyrinth Awesome fantastical allegory set during the Spanish Civil War. GFT. Glasgow and selected cinemas. * The Asphalt Jungle New print of John Huston’s superb 1950 heist movie GFT. Glasgow from Fri l7—-7'hu 23 Nov only.
* Requiem Almost true tales of an exorcism « catch it while yOu can. GFT. Glasgow on Tue 5 and Wed 6 Dec only.
* The Ingmar Bergman Collection Yet another Bergman collection. but this one is a monster. For completists only. See review. Out now (Tartan).