• The first color film for Imamura and the first one that is largely outdoors— this may not sound like a big deal but to a student of Ozu with the shoji doors and control of mise-en-scene I think this is a big thing—he still does a good job using trees and outdoor structures to block and von Sternberg-up his mise-en-scene
Ozu-like depth of field – wonderful work
  • Great shot of the sun opening that we’d come back often—“story of a sun god” then the snack animal montage—Imamura’s obsession with Zoomorphism
  • Shot through branches of tree to show man telling story to kids
  • The red and green face of that town folk storyteller split down the middle- gorgeous work
not bad for his first use of color
  • A shot of a shark eating pig and people saying “people call us animals” throughout- character chained
  • A story of an island village- strange, a doomed family, sexuality (yes it is Imamura), incest, taboo—
  • Shot through wooden window with vertical columns holding it up—another one later with a latter- loaded mise-en-scene
  • Another great Ozu hallway shot
  • Splendid shot 1 hour in with a masseuse woman in the center foreground—and two men talking, split up by her, in the background on the sides- really well done
  • Lantern in the front/left foreground like an Ozu bottle
  • Long film- almost 180 minutes
  • Magic hour coast shot flooded with birds is really nice
one of the film’s most breathtaking shots- magic hour bliss here
  • A sprawling family/town saga
  • Unlike The Pornographers and Intentions of Murder there are just 15 minute stretches here where it’s all narrative unfortunately
immaculately crafted mise-en-scene
  • Shot through holes in a fence, shot of Uma between and framed by rocks
several of these, not as many as The Pornographers but still- incredible framing
  • Really well done sex scene- shallow focus sex in the background (blurred out) and in the foreground we get the overhead lamp (with lizards on it) blocking
  • It’s its own world—no reference off the weird island for 3 hours—has an effect
  • HR