Nihon shunka-kô

I'm slowly suspecting that music will continue to play a large part in the festival films presented, as thus far we got treated to the jazzy tunes in Good for Nothing, the punk rock Fish Story (still a earworm), and now a slew of Japanese folk songs with some recognizable Western evergreens peppering the soundtrack of Sing a Song of Sex, which is also known by its other title Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs, and boy are they bawdy when left to the devices of the singer to improvise.

Directed by Nagisa Oshima outside of the studio system, Sing a Song of Sex as the name implies has as a chief plot element a number of bawdy songs, as explained by Otake (Juzo Itami) to be an outlet for expression by the oppressed masses who have no other avenue to describe their misery, other than to sing about the pleasures of sex and desire, although a number of the lyrics tell of stories about the poor and the things they have to resort to for a living. It's quite clear that Oshima crafted a pointed commentary of society at the time (since he's largely involved in various student demonstrations), through the discussions between Otake and his group of co-ed students as they bar hop after the student examinations, the girls truly being enamoured by their handsome teacher, while the boys just tagging along because of their fantasy in bedding some, if not all, of their female schoolmates.

Like Good for Nothing, these four male students do seem like the usual teenage idle bunch, perhaps so because the examinations are just over, and they're looking for some sort of release and letting their hair down, one of which is to hit the town painting it red, and spend time watching the latest pinku film. Why not, for all hot blooded males, that the topic of sex will pop up inevitably when they talk crap and thrash talk about women and their individual sexual fantasies, that ironically, they do not know how to act around one, especially when they start boasting about what they intend to do with the school flower Fujiwara (Kazuko Tajima) whom they all call "469" based on her examination hall seating assignment.

And the way Oshima had presented this lustful desire had a ring of Nolan's Inception to it, that it deals with a shared fantasy dreamscape where all of them exist and can bear witness to one another's actions in his realm, but instead of falling into deep sleep and needing a kick to wake up, here it goes a one up in being able to do while day-dreaming, therein eliminating the risk of falling into limbo. Of course there's no idea to be planted, only idle boasts of what they're capable of which will have its bluff called later on in the film. This section of the film was one of my favourites for its conceptual execution, but the subject matter will surely disturb.

Like the films from the 60s I've seen thus far, the cinematography and the landscapes are quite the sight to behold, especially those wide shots of a wintry landscape, and the few scenes of the downtown city and subway which seem quite quaintly familiar. We follow the four friends, of whom the leader of the pack Nakamura (Ichiro Araki) stands out for having more to do in the film, and responsible for the death of Otake due to his inaction, a preventable death by a silly mistake on Otake's part if you will, but with irresponsible youths, there's always no due consideration where their actions or inactions will take them in the future.

The second half of the film splits its narrative into two tangents, leading up to the realm of the strange. In the first, we follow Nakamura to the home of Otake's sweetheart Tanigawa (Akiko Koyama)where Nakamura is contemplating how to break the news of his responsibility to her, and it becomes a guilt trip enactment of what happened. The second follows the rest of his friends as they seek out Fujiwara at an anti-Vietnam war movement, also to apologize to her for their virtual violation, but get sort of involved and caught up in the song-singing rallying of the students, and when both threads merge for the finale, it's one really warped mix of lust and desire against a quick folktale history of that between Korea and Japan, taking place inside a pyramid shaped building.

Far out. Hoi hoi!

This movie is about four male high school students who took their university entrance exams and are just hanging around mostly. They have a connection with their teacher Mr. Otake and they go out drinking with him and 3 female classmates. Mr. Otake starts singing a bawdy Japanese folk song, a song sung throughout the film by the male characters. One night after heavy drinking, Otake pays for the girls and guys to stay at an inn since the trains have stopped running. Otake puts on the gas stove, falls drunkenly asleep and accidentally kills himself by poisoning. The girls are inconsolable, the guys nonchalant. The guys become obsessed with a fellow classmate, mostly known by her seat number 469. The film goes from there, with meeting her, meeting Otake's mistress and singing the song. This take on disenfranchised youth in Tokyo is very effective. Director Oshima Nagisa is well known for pushing the envelope (he directed the notorious "In The Realm Of The Senses")and this character study is interesting, with good young actors in the pivotal roles. The movie title notwithstanding, this is not a pornographic film, it has very little nudity and very little violence. Its just a story of attitude, indifference and, if not fear, wariness of what lies ahead. I liked the pacing in this film and generally feel you'll like it if you like Japanese drama. Not perfect, but an interesting film from a maverick director who has no problem making you think.

Sing a Song of Sex, or 'A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs' (frankly I can't really tell you which title is better) is done by a filmmaker who has a kind of poker face, and only reveals his hand just slightly half-way through, so that by the end you really feel the collective punch of his full show of cards. It's a story that has a melancholy air to it, but suffused with a captivating sense of irony and self-consciousness ultimately with itself. Its main characters really couldn't give a damn, except to get laid, and in a way it's like the twisted older cousin of an American Pie movie... only without the bawdy jokes and replaced with bawdy songs, I guess.

This film takes a look at aimless youths finishing high school and getting ready for college who after the sudden death of a teacher wander about singing the same song of sex (going through ten scenarios through the song), and imagining raping a girl in a classroom. There is also a girlfriend of sorts (or two) who follow with their pack, and at one point they come across a group singing protest songs in English. But mostly not a whole lot "happens" except that Oshima gets precisely and dangerously into the minds of his politically conscious - or un-conscious- minds. What do these four boys think about? What's their plan or play? What about the one student who may or may not (or not likely) have been able to save the teacher's life? The style starts out very realistically, which opens it up for how bizarre it gets later on since nothing seems too self-conscious, but everything has on another air of fantasy to it. The last ten minutes gets especially brutal, though all with a slow and uncomfortably surreal boil (by uncomfortable I mean as a compliment). It's a mature, super-black comic work by a director who knows how to put the camera in positions that make his characters more than just figures in a frame but figures set against the backdrops they're in (snow, city buildings, bridges, crowds, the empty school room).

This film is loaded with allegory, much of it evident, I suspect, only if one is intimate with Japanese culture; to Western eyes, it is obvious that Oshima is dealing with disaffected youth, as four lads in school uniform aimlessly follow various paths that seem to offer opportunity for misbehavior of all kinds, especially sexual adventure; while on the quest, references are made to education, to the era of protest, to national relationships to China and Korea--recall that this film was made two years previous to Easy Rider (and makes that film look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm)--much of it can be confusing, but repeated viewings payback with rich rewards for those willing to look for more than entertainment

The cultural significance of the films of Nagisa Ôshima is certainly something I am no expert on, nor do I claim to be. While I've seen a few hundred Japanese movies, as an American I may miss things older Japanese viewers might have picked up on while watching his films. I do know that in general, he was a man who was very disenchanted by both the right and left....feeling as if traditional Japanese culture had let the country down but also feeling that communism and the left wasn't an answer either. And, he tended to point out his dislike of them and modern Japanese society in many of his films.

The point of "Nihon shunka-kô" ("Sing a Song of Sex") appears to be the moral bankruptcy in modern Japanese society....at least that is what I got from the story. It shows four morally vacuous high school students during the period where they take their college entrance exams. Instead of focusing on this and getting serious about their lives, the four spend all their time talking about and fantasizing about sex. To some degree, this is normal for teenage boys...but it goes far beyond that in this story. They fantasize about rape, talk trash about the girls in their class and seem to have no consciences. In one portion of the film, a group of students go out drinking with their teacher and the teacher gets quite drunk and gets them hotel rooms so they can sleep it off. During the night, the teacher dies due to a freak accident. The girls are heartbroken. The boys couldn't care less and even make fun of the grieving girls! Clearly, these guys are a symptom of the sick modern Japan....with no compassion, no empathy, no feeling, and only a desire to fulfill their own lusts.

I would try to recount all of the plot but amazingly, there really isn't any....and apart from the death of the teacher, the story seems more like a snapshot of the boys' lives and nothing more. They just seem to exist...fantasizing and acting like creeps. And, after a while, it's a bit tedious. I assume the director actually intended to evoke this....as his films were often so critical of society.

One thing "Nihon shunka-kô" ("Sing a Song of Sex") has in common with most American films of the era is having high school students being portrayed by folks well into their 20s. I have no idea why this was done so often and in the case of this film perhaps they did it because the plot is so sexual in nature and having teens acting these parts might have been problematic. Regardless, most were about 23-25, not 17 or 18.

Another interesting thing about the film are some cultural references we would normally have no idea about here in the States. First, there was apparently an anti-Vietnam war movement in Japan and you see folks singing petitions about it and later singing about it. Second, there was a protest in which they were calling for the repeal of Foundation Day...which had just been re-instated in 1966. The reason for this isn't in the film, so I read up on it. Apparently, it was instituted back in the 19th century and was bathed in nationalism, Bushido as well as mythology about the founding of Japan. It also has been strongly associated with the nationalism which led to WWII, and was banned by the American occupying forces in 1946. Its reinstatement is seen by some as a move towards this reactionary nationalism and is still a concern by many even today. Clearly Nagisa Ôshima was not avoiding but embracing controversy and cultural upheaval in this film.

So is this any good? Yes and no. If you are looking to learn about Japan, it's actually very informative. The 1950s and 60s were a tough time for Japan as it sought its identity. If you are looking for a film that is fun or enjoyable to watch, well, this certainly isn't it! Challenging but not fun....that's how I saw this movie.

By the way, although sex is a pervasive theme, there is little nudity in the film. There is, however, a weird rape fantasy where a woman is attacked and enjoys it....as an entire classroom watches and couldn't seem to care less. It's weird and unsexy...but might be upsetting to some viewers.