Eros Plus Massacre

Eros Plus Massacre:An Introduction To The Japanese New Wave Cinema (1988) by David Desser is the only book length look at the Japanese New Wave film movement. The first chapter, "Night And Fog in Japan," takes its name from a 1960 Nagisa Oshima film that focuses on political memory and the interpersonal dynamics of social movements. In this film in particular, this is done by looking at the 1950 and 1960 anti-Ampo Treaty protests and Zengakuren (communist league of students) opposition. Other films are discussed in the context of ideology and narrative. Chapter two, "Cruel Stories of Youth," is also taken from the title of an Oshima film made in 1960 and often draws comparisons the French New Wave film movement due to the use of adolescent criminals as protagonists. However, in chapter three, "Ruined Maps: Identity, Sexuality, and Revolution," draws its title from Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1968 film (based on a Kobe Abe novel) The Ruined Map.These themes pop up in other Teshigahara films such as Ptifall (1962), Woman in the Dunes (1963), and The Face of Another (1966)--which are available as a set from The Criterion Collection. Other films discussed in this chapter include Shohei Imamaura's 1966 film The Pornographers, and two other Oshima films: Pleasures Of The Flesh (1965) and Violence At Noon (1966). Women are the subject of Chapter four, "Insect Women," which draws its title from Imamaura's seminal 1963 film Insect Woman. However, the chapter starts out with a lengthy and merited discussion of Kenji Mizoguchi and the Japanese concept of the "feministo," before discussing Imamura more fully. This includes the aforementioned film, as well as Pigs and Battleships (1961) and Intentions of Murder (1964). Chapter five, "Forest Of Pressure," is a discussion of the Japanese equivalent of the "social problem" film. It begins by discussing films that look at race by Imamura History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (1970) and Oshima's documentaries about Koreans. Shinsuke Ogawa is also singled out for his documentation of the Sanrizuka incident, where the government displaced farmers in Chiba in order to build a new airport. Another documentary film maker, Noriaki Tsuchimoto, was also singled out for his documentation of the infamous Chisso chemical factory waste dumping that led to human birth defects near the dumping site called Minamata. Chapter six has yet another Oshima film for the inspiration for its title, "Shinjuku Thieves," which is a word play on Oshima's film Diary Of A Shinjuku Thief (1969). This chapter mostly focuses on formal theatrics used in films like Oshima's. Masahiro Shinoda's film Double Suicide (1969) is given much consideration due to the use of traditional bunraku techniques in the film. The final chapter (seven), is "Three Men Who Left Their Will On Film," which is yet another nod to Oshima--The Man Who Left His Will On Film (1969). The other two men are Hani Susumu, The Inferno Of First Love (1968) and Yoshishige Yoshida, Eros Plus Massacre (1969). These films encapsulate almost all of the themes of the New Wave movement according to Desser. This volume is an essential document into understanding recent Japanese film history.