Double suicide
(Shinjû : Ten no Amijima)
Masahiro Shinoda
- 1969
- Japan
- Drama
- 1h45mn
- Original version with French subtitles
- Black and white
For years, Jihei, a paper merchant whose business isn’t flourishing, has been in a relationship with Koharu, a courtesan he hopes to someday buy off. He neglects his family for this doomed love affair.
Tired of Shōchiku Company constraints, Shinoda quits the firm and starts his own production company, Hyogen Sha (Expression Company), and inaugurates it with this adaptation of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, a master of the Jōruri (a puppet theater genre, ancestor of the Bunraku), who is often compared to Shakespeare. De facto, Shinoda goes beyond the traditional topic and delivers what is probably his most experimental film, exposing its theatrical workings - his characters are manipulated like puppets - to better investigate the threads of fate. Visually splendid all through, with novel ideas in every shot.
Credits
- With : Kichiemon Nakamura, Shima Iwashita, Shizue Kawarazaki, Tokie Hidari, Sumiko Hidaka
- Screenplay : Masahiro Shinoda, Tôru Takemitsu, Taeko Tomioka
- Photography : Tôichirô Narushima
- Editing : Masahiro Shinoda
- Music by : Tôru Takemitsu
- Production : Masayuki Nakajima, Masahiro Shinoda
