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There’s a world of Japanese cinema outside of the Kyoto and Tokyo dominated projects, each of these cities serving as the historical bases for the country’s film industry. One such location that’s always refreshing to see on the big screen is the Okinawa Prefecture, a series of islands in the East China Sea disconnected from mainland Japan. It’s this tropical setting that Okinawan filmmaker Go Takamine utilizes for his slow and meandering breakthrough feature, “Paradise View”.

Paradise View is screening at Japan Society

Days before the Okinawa Reversion of 1971, Reishu Goya (Kaoru Kobayashi) has quit his job at an American military base with seemingly little else to do in mind. Around him, various families quibble and scheme as a close-knit community comes to terms with inevitable change. Into this lawless yet peaceful environment wanders Ito (Haruomi Hosono), a Japanese who has come to marry one of the village women,...

Go Takamine continues his opus of Okinawan cinema with the adaption of the famous “Uchinaa Shibai” play. A day laborer named Giru seduces the boss’s daughter and flees to the mystical Untama forest where he transforms into the Okinawan folk hero Untamaguri. Taking place in 1972, during the transition from the American occupation to Japanese sovereignty, Takamine shows the islanders in a phase of uncertainty.

Untamagiru is screening at Japan Society

Folklore, politics, and traditions. “Untamagiru” begins like an oddball comedy, with humor and quirky characters but holds a much more political subtext than its forerunner “Paradise View” (1985). Featuring Kaoru Kobayashi (“Midnight Diner” 2014) as Giru and John Sayles (“The Howling” 1981) as an American officer, Takamine mixes past and modern aspects of the local culture to describe the struggle of a rich culture that tries to preserve its identity. We see a lot of singing and performances referring to the past...

Marking 50 years since Okinawa’s reversion from American sovereignty back to Japan, Visions of Okinawa documents the dynamic historical, political and cultural spaces of Okinawa around this pivotal point in history through in-person screenings and streamed films exploring the legacies of the Occupation, WWII and imperialism. Primarily focusing on films made around the time of or dealing with the 1972 reversion, Visions of Okinawa addresses issues of identity, race and borders by presenting diverse and complicated reflections on the prefecture from mainland filmmakers, native Okinawans and documentarians.

In-theater Screenings

All in-person screenings will take place in Japan Society’s auditorium, located at 333 E. 47th Street in New York, NY.

Paradise View

Friday, May 13, 2022 at 7:00 Pm

Dir. Go Takamine, 1985, 117 min., Dcp, color, in Okinawan (Uchinaaguchi) and Japanese with English subtitles. With Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Togawa, Haruomi Hosono.

North American Premiere of 2021 edit. Go Takamine’s rarely screened first theatrical feature is...