Radiance Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: The start of an ongoing series, this first volume of Radical Japan explores the films of new wave icon Nagisa Oshima (Cruel Story of Youth, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence). One of the most vital, challenging and admired bodies of work in cinema history, this boxset presents Blu-ray premieres of Oshima’s finest features across seven discs. In The Catch (1961), a village in World War II is shaken by the capture of a pilot; in Death by Hanging (1968), a failed execution throws the justice system into disarray; Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (1969) strikingly captures Tokyo’s 1960s counter-culture; Boy (1969) is a vivid portrait of a family surviving through scams; The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970), Oshima’s reaction to the protest movement; The Ceremony (1971), a meditation on how traditions oppress the young; and Dear Summer Sister (1972), which questions Japan’s colonial relation to Okinawa.

​

Views: Released by Radiance Films as a bold new collection featuring nine early films from new wave Japanese director Nagisa Oshima, the Radical Japan: Cinema & State set is a fascinating insight to the mind of this great film-maker. While the box and title announces there are nine films in all by Nagisa, it's worth pointing out that seven of these that are feature films. The other two, in fact, are a short film and documentary directed by him. The first in the collection is The Catch, a 1961 film that tells the tale of some rural Japanese villagers that 'catch' a black American pilot as WWII is coming to an end. While awaiting for official orders on what to do with him, the villagers put any and all blame of their mishaps on the soldier, filling each other with paranoia and fear that drives them to make some rash decisions! Having just watched the Radiance Films Blu-ray release of the classic Korean film Splendid Outing prior to this (a film which I highly recommend by the way) – I couldn't help but feel there were some comparisons in their nightmarish stories of being held prisoner by small-minded rural people. The difference with The Catch, however, is that their decisions are driven by fear, with the horrors of war engrained in their minds and actions that lead to the unfortunate ending of their prisoner. As dark as it may seem, The Catch still proves to be a gripping watch – wonderfully shot and brilliantly directed; it serves as a great start to this intriguing collection and was based on a novella by Kenzaburo Oe. Aside from it's new HD restoration, the film is accompanied by a 13 minute appreciation video with Luk Van Haute which makes for an interesting watch...

​

The second film of the set is Death by Hanging, presented here in a gorgeous new 4K restoration, which has one of the most interesting opening acts of any film I have seen in some time. Playing like a documentary, it introduces us to a Japanese death chamber where an ethnic Korean man, only known as R, is being prepared for execution. This first 8 or so minutes goes into great detail of the set-up, via a monotone narration by director Nagisa Oshima, that describes everything from the size of each room, the people involved, the toilet, the folding chairs, and how the accused is hanged. It's quite gripping, but also quite unnerving in understanding how easy it is for humankind to make such a show out of killing someone – criminal or not. But Death by Hanging gets even more interesting! Although hanged in front of witnesses, R miraculously survives his execution but loses his memory due to the shock. Now, the collective of officials present must figure out how to proceed as the law forbids the execution of one who does not recognise their crime. So, in a bid to reignite his memory, the officials recreate R's first crime in front of him – which is actually done with some hilarity, albeit in a perverse and absurd way. But there actions soon get out of hand leading to the accidental killing of another girl by the officials themselves. Soon after, a Korean woman arrives at the death chamber claiming to be R's sister, but soon finds herself at the end of the rope. The madness continues in ways I wouldn't want to reveal so as not to ruin the experience for you, but it does result in one of the most interesting films I have seen in some time and was actually based on the true crime of a Korean man that murdered two Japanese school girls. The film itself addresses a lot of social commentary with themes of guilt, consciousness, and race discrimination to great lengths. While dark in it's story, the realistic portrayal of the Japanese officials involved and their humorous attempts at making things right, helps the (almost) 2 hour running time pass by. Of course, this is only made possible because of the fantastic cast members involved.

​

Unlike The Catch, Death by Hanging comes with a number of extras, the first of which is a very insightful and hugely informative audio commentary by the great Samm Deighan. This is definitely worth listening to if you want to learn a lot about the film itself, but also those involved and some of the meanings behind the directors social commentary. In a 21 minute interview with film-maker Yang Yonghi, a second-genreation Korean resident of Japan, he discusses Death by Hanging and it's true life inspiration, as well as how the film dealt with the Japanese attitude towards Koreans at that point. It's an interesting piece with Yang giving some clear insight to her upbringing and career, and worth a watch. The last bonus feature is a short documentary film by Oshima called Yunbogi's Diary; a 25 minute piece created after his research trip to Seoul in 1965. Here, Oshima photographed the children of the street, capturing poverty and haunting images that would go drive his social commentary on Japan's treatment of Korean's in Death by Hanging. Presented in 4:3, the film is told via narration and photographs and makes for a somber watch, but the story of Yunbogi is an important one that should be watched and a staunch reminder of the horrors of war.

​

The next film of the set is the bizarre experimental piece, Diary of a Shinjuku Thief; on first watch, an incomprehensible dramedy of sorts about a bookstore thief named Birdey (or Birdtop), who is taken on a number of absurd adventures around the Shinjuku area by a lady sales assistant called Umeko. Playing like a kaleidoscope of events, Diary of a Shinjuku Thief wouldn't be the kind of movie that passes the eyes of most Western viewers. It's a tricky watch, but an interesting one at that, shifting between colour and black & white footage without reason, and flitting between scenes of music, sex, theatrical performances, and more. Shot in a documentary style, which gives many unsuspecting members of public the chance to glance at the camera, the film ends with a montage of riot scenes taken from protests in Tokyo around that time. It's definitely one of Oshima's more bizarre offerings, but I still enjoyed the experience. Thankfully, the wonderful Tony Rayns is on hand with an audio commentary to try and help us make more sense of it all – breaking down it's themes of theft, sexuality, revolution and more. As always, Tony is a wealth of information and a joy to listen to. Famed graphic designer, Tadanori Yokdo, gives a 19 minute interview in regard to his unexpected casting as the leading man of the film. It's a fun interview as he looks back at the locations, direction and methods involved in bringing the film to life. The final extra on the disc is a 52 minute documentary called Japanese Cinema: New Territories from film-maker Hubert Niogret. It's an interesting piece that sees him interview Japanese directors, while cutting between archival news and films clips from Akira Kurosawa films, Godzilla and more. The documentary is delivered with French narration between interviews, with all subtitled in English.

​

Nagisa Oshima's Boy is next, a 1969 crime-drama based on real events that were initially reported in a Japanese newspaper just a few years earlier. Toshio Omura is a young boy whose abusive father forces his stepmother into a dangerous scam in order to get money for his own needs. But after she refuses to go any further with it, the father turns to Toshiro to continue. The scam in question sees feign getting hit by a car in order to shake-down the driver and, if all goes to plan, bribe them for money instead of pressing charges. Emotionally confused and reluctant, the boy wants to keep his family happy, so agrees to help. But as the abuse continues, and moving around begins to weaken the marriage, Toshio starts to plan his escape from it all, but the authorities are already onto them! Once again, yet another fantastic movie from Oshima that explores the themes of youth and crime. The film itself is stunningly restored, that makes it's simple – yet beautiful – cinematography just leap off the screen. I was stunned to learn that, after searching many children's homes around Tokyo, an orphan by the name of Tetsuo Abe was cast as the titular boy. No doubt feeding off the memories of his own broken upbringing, Tetsuo was able to deliver a powerful performance which was to be his one and only time in front of the camera.​ Sharing the disc with the feature film is a 19 minute piece with Japanese film scholar Jennifer Coates, who discusses Boy and how it falls into line with Oshima's work on youth and crime. She makes some interesting points about Oshima's method of directing, the scams behind the story, and how Boy takes us back to the style of his earlier works. Next, we get a 7 minute archival interview with Nagisa Oshima himself – originally broadcast on French television back in 1995. This makes for some delay in the Q&A as translators do their job, and begins with a clip from his controversial erotic-thriller In The Realm Of The Senses before going on to talk about other films. And finally, we have another 52 minute documentary called 100 Years of Japanese Cinema – a piece made for the British Film Institute by Nagisa Oshima that celebrates the finest of Japanese film, from the silent works made in the late 1800s through to the modern classics of Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano, and much of his own work, of course. It's a fascinating guide to the cinematic greats of Japan's past, narrated in English (although in Oshima's words) over a host of clips and scenes from some pretty interesting titles. Overall, another great addition to the set!

​

The Man Who Left His Will On Film is the next film in the collection; Oshima's 1970 metaphysical mystery about a film student whose (film) camera is stolen by another student that goes on to commit suicide. In trying to understand why, the film student and his friends go through the footage shot by the victim to try and find any clues that might just explain why he did it. But after watching landscape after landscape, the film club struggle to solve the mystery! While some have described it as 'complex and layered' and others as 'empty and pretentious', I found The Man Who Left His Will On Film to be pretty intriguing although don't believe that I really caught it's true meaning on my first watch – but I'm also not the kinda guy who needs to analyze films to understand them more. As a director of 7 independent features and organizer of a 15 year long film festival, I look at these kind of projects on many basis. This – I would have absolutely chose to screen! Delivered in gorgeous full-frame black & white, the film feels like another experimental piece from this New Wave director offering stunning shots of old Japanese city life, real footage of student protests, long lingering shots, an interesting mix of sound and original score, and an Avant Garde style of story telling that explores a free and independent look at the world. In some respects, it's a film about film, and it's actually quite a nicely made piece overall. W​ith the extra features, lead actor Kazuo Goto looks back at his time on the film, how it came to be and his experience in working with Nagisa Oshima. It's quite a fun 20 minute interview with Goto revealing that his character in the film wasn't too dissimilar to his own life, having formed his own film club at high school and their interest in protests etc. In fact, it was one of his own short films that caught the attention of Oshima initially, thus leading to a role in the film. Film scholar, Julian Ross, delivers a 17 minute video essay called After The Tokyo War – an interesting piece on Oshima's film itself and it's different titles, although his monotone voice might just make you drift off as he narrates over scenes from this and other titles. And finally, there's a 22 minute piece-to-cam with Junichi Konuma, biographer of famed composer Toru Takemitsu, who discusses his career and collaborations with Nagisa Oshima. It's another interesting piece, looking back at Toru's early life through to his time as a composer. Of course, his work here on The Man Who Left His Will On Film was one thing that really stood out to me while watching.

​

The Ceremony follows as the next feature of the set, a gripping and twisted drama set in post-war Japan that follows a traditional family clan as they gather for weddings and funeral ceremonies, as told through flashbacks. But things aren't quite as they seem, and we soon learn that the elders of the family will go to great lengths in order to keep their traditions in place – even if it means hurting the youngest family members along the way. But their dark secrets are causing more damage than they know, and soon, the family starts to break away, one by one! While we see many movies today with the theme of dysfunctional families, I'd like to think that The Ceremony was truly one of the first and one of the most extreme that really set the bar for what was to come. While intriguing and captivating, Oshima's story is also surreal and often humorous, taking viewers on a wild journey of tradition, trauma, humiliation and loss. It's certainly not a film that will appeal to everyone, but it is considered a masterpiece by many. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey (even if I missed something along the way), which stands as the longest running film in the set at just over 2 hours. Accompanying the film is some audio commentary by Jasper Sharp, although it is 'select-scene' and something I am saving for my second viewing. There's a brief 4 minute interview with Nagisa Oshima, originally broadcast on Belgian television back in 1986. Here, the director talks 'art nouveau' while in Brussels and how it was a big part of his childhood. And finally, the great Tony Rayns discusses his good friend Nagisa, with their time spent together as well as Oshima's life and career overall. It's quite an informative piece with some revealing stories, and comes in at a lengthy (but welcome) 46 minutes.

​

And last but not least, we have the wonderful Dear Summer Sister from1972 – another fun piece by Oshima, albeit a little lighter in tone that the previous films in the set. That said, the story is about a young girl from Tokyo who arrives in Okinawa to search for her long-lost brother. But after some digging, she learns that the history of her parents wasn't so straight-forward, and that the tour guide she has been meeting with may indeed by the sibling she seeks! As with most of Nagisa's works, there's a stream of controversy that trickles through Dear Summer Sister. It could be the long running and complicated relationship between the Japanese mainlanders and Okinawan islanders, or the mistreatment of women during the war by misogynistic men in positions of power – and who knows what else. After spending some time in Okinawa myself, it was nice to see it during a period that wasn't too saturated by tourism. Interestingly though, I found this to be somewhat of a rushed production in comparison to others in the set – carrying a docu-film style with it's handheld guerilla shots, albeit for a few staged moments throughout – but it also carried a certain with it at the same time. As with the first film, there is only one special feature alongside Dear Summer Sister, which is a 23 minute piece-to-cam by Japanese film critic Rie Tsukinaga where she discusses the history behind the film and confirms that it was, indeed, made in 3 weeks and released very soon after completion. Overall it's an in-depth look at Oshima's work and helps deliver more of an understanding in what the director was aiming to to deliver...

​

As a whole, this gorgeous release of Radical Japan: Cinema & State is a fantastic introduction to one of Japan's most celebrated film-makers. So much so, in fact, that I have already ordered more of his works since finishing it! With stunning 4K restorations on Death by Hanging, Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, Boy, The Man Who Left His Will on Film and The Ceremony, as well as HD presentations of The Catch and Dear Summer Sister, it's fair to say that these Oshima titles have never looked better. Of course, this limited edition (to 5000) comes beautifully packaged in a rigid box, with the usual Radiance Films removable OBI strip, complete with a stunning 160 page book featuring writings by Rea Amit, Espen Bale, Donald Richie, Alexander Jacoby, and Nagisa Oshima himself. Once again, another wonderful release by Radiance Films and the perfect celebration of a fantastic film-maker!​