Almost a decade before Imamura’s Vengeance Is Mine, Shindo crafted this fascinating documentary-inspired portrait of a serial killer that drew upon the actual events of a troubled nineteen-year old who went on a murderous rampage, killing four people with a pistol stolen from an US navel base. Shindo’s meticulous research into the background of the anti-social youth, including extensive interviews with his mother and acquaintances, brings a rare authenticity of unexpected detail to a film that also reads as an astute critique of American imperialism and reckless tabloid journalism.
Tag: 1970s
In Toronto, Canada, a troubled police detective investigates fixed betting and corruption in the world of heavyweight boxing. He uncovers a plot by a crime boss to use computerised data to rig fights. Everything is resolved during an explosive finale, set during a world heavyweight championship bout.
Pastel de Sangre is an anthology of four short films whose theme revolves around “terror throughout history” The first film “Tarot” takes place during the crusades. The second, “Nineteenth Century” is about the love triangle of Frankenstein. The third, “Terror among Christians” takes place sometime during the reign of the Roman Empire and the fourth and last, “The Dance”, is a contemporary ghost story.
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A million miles away from ‘Camelot’ or ‘Excalibur’, this film ruthlessly strips the Arthurian legend down to its barest essentials. Arthur’s knights, far from being heroic, are conniving and greedy men who, just before the film starts, have failed miserably to find the Holy Grail. Aimlessly resentful at first, the developing relationship between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere focuses their rage, leading to inevitable tragedy…
An animated experimental short film using charcoal and pastels to create Cubist and Art Deco-inspired designs evoking the curiosity, grace and beauty of two cats in constant motion.
Shindo’s “Hymn” is one of many adaptions of Tanizaki’s classical novella ‘Shunkinsho’ (‘A Portrait of Shunkin’, 1933). The story tells of the adoration of Sasuke for his mistress, the blind samisen-teacher Shunkin, who treats him imperiously and subjects him to cruel beatings. After an unknown intruder probably one of her pupils, who seeks revenge for her cruel behaviour, pours boiling water on the sleeping Shunkin’s face, Sasuke blinds himself in order not to behold her disfigurement. Sasuke’s sacrifice, made in response to Shunkin’s tacit wish, seals their life-long relationship.
Clara works a back-breaking factory job in a Milan slum to support her disabled husband, three children and carping mother-in-law. But when Clara is diagnosed as tubercular, she’s sent to a sanatorium in the Alps that proves the greatest vacation of her life. There she meets other patients who treat her with kindness, civility and an intellectual respect that is alien to her. When she falls for a handsome fellow patient, she wonders if she can ever return.