PIGS AND BATTLESHIPS
Opens on September 10
Director: Shōhei Imamura Run Time: 108 min. Release Year: 1961 Language: Japanese
Starring: Hiroyuki Nagato, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Masao Mishima, Shirō Ōsaka, Tetsurō Tamba
A dazzling, unruly portrait of postwar Japan, Pigs and Battleships details, with escalating absurdity, the desperate power struggles between small-time gangsters in the port town of Yokosuka. Shot in gorgeously composed, bustling CinemaScope, the film follows a young couple as they try to navigate Yokosuka’s corrupt businessmen, chimpira, and their own unsure future together. With its breakneck pacing and constantly inventive cinematography, this film marked Shohei Imamura as a major voice in Japanese cinema.