(2023, Japan, 95')
The Japanese cult director returns to the theme of war after his previous works Fires on the Plain (Nobi) in 2014 and Killing (Zan) in 2018. Once again, the setting takes us back to World War II. A woman survives alone, tormented by the horrors of war in a partially destroyed small pub. Forced into prostitution, she spends her days unable to escape the despair that surrounds her. However, a glimmer of hope unexpectedly arrives in the form of a small orphan whom she must take care of.
With his debut work from 1989, Tetsuo, Shinya Tsukamoto already lays the groundwork for his entire future cinematic narrative: flesh, metal, genetic mutation with nuclear echoes, extreme self-destructive violence, and sexuality are conveyed through a kinetic visual whirlwind that leaves the viewer completely stunned. The intensification of boxing in Tokyo Fist, a wild and delirious maternity in Kotoko, and erotic impulses in A Snake of June are just some of the multiple facets of the filmography of this unique and visionary author.
