Stolen Desire

Stolen Desire (1958) marks the debut of the celebrated Japanese New Wave director Shohei Imamura. It is very much a mature debut in that it is a very polished film. However, in terms of his oeuvre of films, it is also a minor work. It depicts the trials and tribulations of a traveling troupe of actors with a young college graduate Shinichi (Hiroyuki Nagato), working as the director. The story takes place in the working class Kawachi district of Osaka that has something of a rural feel in the film, but has been enveloped by the city in the modern age. The setting of this film is a statement of sorts since it declares that Imamura will be exploring a milieu that is a far cry from the restrained middle class dramas of Ozu, however, the irony is that in 1959 Ozu would remake his Story of Floating Weeds about a travelling troupe of actors himself. All in all, an entertaining debut from a director who would make some of the more interesting and challenging modern Japanese films in his career.