This screening will be preceded by an introduction by Deborah Shamoon, Associate Professor of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore.

Director: Seijun Suzuki
Runtime: 90 min
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: M18

Synopsis

In the war-ravaged slums of post-war Tokyo, a tough crew of women eke out a living on a knife’s edge. Adhering to a strict set of values, where love is sin and sex is business, anyone who betrays the group is cruelly punished. As army deserter Shintaro Ibuki wanders into their world, tensions erupt and boil over.

The brutal and uncompromising vision of the film is elevated by the intricate production design of art director Takeo Kimura, one of Seijun Suzuki’s regular collaborators. Unable to find suitable locations, Kimura and his team built stunningly realistic studio sets in under 25 days.

About the Speaker

Deborah Shamoon is Associate Professor of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on representations of girls and women in Japanese film, literature and popular culture. Her publications include Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girls’ Culture in Japan (2012); “Misora Hibari and the Girl Star in Postwar Japanese Cinema,” Signs 35:1 (2009); and “Class S: Appropriation of ‘Lesbian’ Subculture in Modern Japanese Literature and New Wave Cinema,” Cultural Studies 35.1 (2020).

For the full Retrospective: Seijun Suzuki programme, please click here.

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Important Notice:

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