Sho o suteyo machi e deyô

I am not very familiar with Japanese cinematography. I think the number of Japanese films I've ever watched can be counted on one hand, and I don't remember being particulary excited for any of them. However, this one is an exception. From the first seconds, you realise that the movie isn't your ordinary movie that you're used watching on a week-to-week basis (it was actually hard to believe that such a level of meta could already be present in the 1970s, but hey, it's Japan we're dealing with here - there's nothing strange about them being 30 years ahead of all of us). After the intriguing opening scene, "Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets" continues to pleasently surprise its viewer until the closing scene, which is nicely bookmarks the entire story... no, not the story - the performance.

On first look, this movie appeared to have everything I desire, but I was let down. My biggest problem was there were too many distractions from the actual story of the movie which resulted in boredom. The beginning and ending of the film serves as a breaker of the fourth wall which, however interesting, doesn't add one iota to the actual plot. Instead, it seems to serve other political intentions/themes for which I was just not interested in. You can research 1970s Japanese subculture both on the streets and in cinema to understand the connections, but even then, unless you're a film buff with this particular regional interest, it doesn't add to the actual story at hand.

The second plot detractor, was the incorporation of the random scenes. These included things like street dancing, some guys smoking drugs in public, a stutterer reflecting on his speech, and video recordings of personal ads. I'm all for the collage style, but again, I could not find any connection from these to the actual plot or the setting.

The story and the cinematic effects used had so much potential, but I ultimately found myself bored and detached due to all the unnecessary scenes. The director was trying to accomplish more than one mission in this film and the result was that the objectives clashed and eroded each other, mainly the story of our teenage protagonist.

It's difficult to describe this rare film by Terayama. I was lucky enough to track down a rare subtitled version of the film. Although the quality was faded, the film still had me glued to the screen. Trippy color filters and noise rock interludes of Sing along angst ridden protest music. The music sounds like punk rock, but the film was made 6 years before the punk movement broke out. The music of the film had to of had some sort of influence on the punk scene. The film has an unconventional narrative style almost like Gummo. Basic story is about a teen in Japan, who plays soccer and deals with his highly dysfunctional family. His grandma is senile, his sister loves her pet rabbit to the point of sexual obsession, and his father gets him a prostitute so he can be more of a man. Out of rage our protagonist runs away and hits the street. But the main story is broken up by random short narratives of various Japanese strangers, punk like sing alongs and psychedelic surreal imagery. The funniest scene has to be when a young girl and teen guy hang up a penis shaped punching bag in a public side walk area. The Directer Terayama was the founder of Japanese Avant-Garde style theater in Japan, Emperor Tomato Ketchup is his more well known film. This is definitely one of the strangest and best Japanese films ever made!!! 10/10

Surreal, experimental, loud, and chaotic, yet in other words, pointless, disjointed, perplexing, and unsatisfying. The epitome of style over substance. Filled with numerous overlong, inexplicable, and unnecessary scenes that tries so hard to deviate from linear storytelling yet at the same time failing to delve into it's main themes of teenage rebellion. I found it frustrating not to learn anything substantial about the protagonist, who oddly lacks screen time and remains nameless. Let alone his family. The surreal elements lack appeal and fail to provide significant artistic value, ultimately leaving me bewildered. Even the music fails to capture my attention as well. In the end, I was left disappointed. I really wanted to like it though.

I like to take a chance with the films I watch - sometimes it pays off, other times I wish I'd just skipped over it. This film belongs in the latter category.

It really was awful... The characters are abhorrent, the dialogue is nonsensical, the use of green and purple filters is nauseating, It's just a horrendous viewing experience. Not to mention the scenes of gang rape, bestiality and animal cruelty, all accompanied by a cacophony of screams, wails and weird chanting, used simply to shock the viewer and further twist the dystopian society this film presents us with. The worst example of art-house cinema... I advise you to stay clear.

...The prostitution song was fun though ;)