Hakuchû no tôrima

I bought a rare copy of this for $1 at my local library, being a fan of foreign (especially Japanese) cinema, and never having heard of the director, Nagisa Oshima. I definitely cannot say that the film is bad, because like the reviewer above, I did not understand it. It isn't that I had difficulty following what was happening in the storyline, which was pretty straightforward, but I just had no idea what the intent of the filmmakers were, what the purpose of the story was. The storyline is so bizarre and sensationalistic - a serial rapist and his relationship with both his wife and one of his victims, all three of whom used to be part of some kind of commune for intellectuals (I didn't even know it was a commune until reading another reviewer's synopsis) - that I am sure there must be some underlying symbolism or message here the director was trying to convey. Maybe it had something to do with Japanese society of the time (1966), I'm not sure? Therefore, I must give my opinion of the outward details of the film. The black-and-white cinematography of the film was exquisite, and the constant cutting of shots from scene to scene was highly impressive. It is obvious a great deal of energy and resources were put into the production. This film is outwardly exceedingly beautiful, on a par with other such visual Japanese films as "Kwaidan" and "Kagemusha." The music score was arresting, as well. Other reviewers all seem to compare this to the work of French director Alain Resnais, but I have never seen any of his films. To me, the film seemed distantly related to the works of Stanley Kubrick in its meticulous attention to visual compositions (I saw the film in widescreen, and I can't even imagine watching it in full screen) and its delving into very dark, uncharted psychological territory. Another film to compare this to is Nicholas Roeg's "Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession" - another dark, non-linear, visually beautiful film whose themes were very difficult to penetrate. The other major drawback is the length - this film does seem to go on about a half hour too long.

I would love to have a conversation with the director on just what the storyline means, but unfortunately, I had to watch it without any frame of reference. That made it a frustrating intellectual experience, but an impressive aesthetic one.

Oshima's Violence at Noon is a meditation on the destructive capacity of love. It traces the course of a grotesque love triangle between a rapist and two women who both love him, leading to an ultimately tragic conclusion.

This is a deliberately deep, art house film, with much ponderous dialogue. The dialogue serves as much to express Oshima's ideas on love as to advance the plot, with lines such as "Love has no rewards." The film also features some great cinematography, with excellent use of black and white. A sequence in which a violent attack is represented by a series of photographs is a particular highlight.

However, the film suffers from a tendency to let ideas take precedence over characterization. We often have little idea why the characters do certain actions, a particular problem given that some of their activities are extreme. Ultimately, this is a thought-provoking film that at times descends into the head scratching.

As I should have expected from director Nagisa Ôshima, "Hakuchû no tôrima" ("Violence at Noon") is a thoroughly unpleasant film. It's central themes are rape, murder and suicide....so you might want to think twice before you watch it.

Eisuke is a horrible person...pretty much human garbage. Despite having no discernable good qualities, two women love him. Why this is the case becomes SOMEWHAT apparent through the course of the film, but they refuse to go to the police after there's a string of rapes and murders...even though they both know that Eisuke is responsible. With one woman, instead of telling the police, she sends letters to Eisuke's wife...trying to get her to turn in this despicable man.

There's more to the story than this, but suffice to say I disliked everyone in the film....which is NOT unusual for this director. He tended to often make films about amoral people and they are certainly NOT everyone's taste. I frankly have never loved any of his dark and unpleasant films...and this one, though well made, is just unpleasant.

First of all, let me correct a wrong statement which you can find in one of the two other reviews on this film: no, Oshima never attended a film school in France, although he was clearly influenced by the French New Wave and eventually shot a film in Paris in the 1980s ("Max my Love"). Now, to see some influence from Resnais' "Marienbad" and "Muriel" in this film is quite right: the lightning-paced editing, jump cuts, elliptical narrative and numerous flashbacks turn this work into a rather challenging one for the viewer, while it presents an interesting reflection on haunted memory (another common point with Resnais).

No, as you may guess, this is not a "sit back and relax" film. To put things in a nutshell, "Hakuchu no Torima" is the portrayal of a violent rapist as seen through the recollections of his wife and one of his victims. As the film starts, Eisuke (played by a great Kei Sato) encounters Shino (Saeda Kawaguchi), who works as a maid in a house. She is a former coworker from a failed collective farm, whose life he once saved -- only to rape her. Soon, Eisuke's criminal pattern of rapes and murders emerges as he goes on assaulting women (Shino being the witness of one of them, as Eisuke tries to violate her employer). When cooperating with the police on making a description of the rapist, Shino withholds her crucial knowledge of his identity. She prefers writing letters to Eisuke's dutiful wife, Matsuko, a schoolteacher (Akiko Koyama -- Mrs Oshima), in order to expose his true nature and perhaps induce her into turning Eisuke over to the police. As the police investigation develops, Shino insinuates herself into the investigative process by following Inspector Haraguchi (Fumio Watanabe) as he pursues clues in an attempt to understand Eisuke's destructive impulses. Haraguchi is led to believe that Shino, as Eisuke's first victim, is the underlying cause for his violence. Flashbacks tell us about the complex circumstances behind Eisuke's rescue of Shino at the collective farm, revealing the dual image of Eisuke as both criminal and savior in the eyes of Shino, and explaining the inextricable bond between the criminal and his victim. Strangely enough, Shino and Matsuko will eventually unite their efforts to protect Eisuke from capture... or won't they?

Throughout the whole film, Oshima is more preoccupied by the relationship developing between Shino and Matsuko than by the rapist. The despair of both women is linked to that of Eisuke himself and to the failure of the socialist movement in postwar Japan (symbolized by the collapse of the collective farm, after which the true believers either committed suicide or turned to primitively destructive ways). Based on a true story (when Japan was terrorized by a man who raped and killed up to 30 women in 1957-58), shot in a stunning black and white (which makes this film look like no other film from Oshima), "Hakuchu no Torima" explores the themes of guilt and self-destruction, and shows how crime reflects the pathology of the society in which the criminal lives. A difficult yet beautiful and riveting film, for experienced viewers.

Possibly the most confusing movie I've ever sat through, it took me a long time to get anything out of it. I just couldn't grab onto even the slightest shred of a plot, and, without the ability to find a hook, it felt at first like watching a blank wall. But eventually, I started making inroads and, as the film progresses, its chopped-up plot begins to emerge. It is the story of a rapist and murderer and two women with whom he is intricately involved. Shino is one of his rape victims, and also, we find out, a woman he rescued from suicide in the past. Jinbo is the killer's wife, who knows his guilt (or at least suspects it) but loves him and wants to protect him. Nagisa Oshima actually went to film school in France, and, though part of the Japanese New Wave, no one will miss the French New Wave influences, especially Alain Resnais, whose films have similarly infuriated me in the past with their difficult narratives. Even if I never understood what the hell happened here, the film has several great aspects. The acting is quite good, that's clear. But, in particular, the music, by Hikaru Hayashi, and the cinematography, by Akira Takada, are extremely beautiful. I think I might like this one better if I give it yet another try.

ETA: zetes here in the distant year 2010, having just watched the film for the second time. It seems that younger zetes was being a tad dumb, though it could have been the fact that he watched it on a VHS with probably washed-out subtitles (remember those? Yeah, I don't miss them!). The film is actually kind of convoluted, perhaps purposely so. But after the first third of the film, it's fairly clear what's going on. It is quite good, and the visuals and direction are spectacular. This is now available on DVD in an Eclipse box set (it's generally considered to be the best film in that set, too, though I've only watched a couple of films from it so far).