dir. Nagisa Oshima
writ. Nagisa Oshima, Toshiro Ishido
feat. Masahiko Tsugawa, Kayoko Hanoo, Isao Sasaki, Fumio Watanabe
Oshima offers a grim and unsettling portrayal of slum life in this raggedly paced film. Residents trade in blood, selling to a black market via underground labs, with shifting alliances occasionally upsetting the business. A persistent aura of distrust permeates daily life as former friends quickly become traitors for a bigger cut of the action.
Takeshi (Sasaki) is too soft for this world where one needs to keep moving "like a top" or risk falling over and tossed aside permanently. The dubious patriot thinks war is the answer, a condition that brings clear purpose and the inevitable demand for employment, inviting an uneasy comparison to Mother Courage. But like everyone else in the slum, he's willing to sell out his buddies, quick to betray his noble stance. Poverty creates a cycle here, eventually coming round to destroy anything that has been developed (hope, trust, romance) and start over again.
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