A Lustful Man

When I came across A Lustful Man (1961), an early period film directed Yasuzo Masumura-an under-rated director of the New Wave era, I was intrigued by the setting since I associate him with films set in contemporary Japan. It was a vehicle for 60s stars Raizo Ichikawa and Ayako Wakao based on a novel by Saikaku Ihara known for racy accounts of the financial and amorous affairs of the merchant class. Perhaps, Masumura saw it as a critique of the then current postwar economic boom to be successful at any cost. (A theme in earlier films such as Giants and Toys and Black Test Car) Here we have a character, Yonosuke (Ichikawa) who only cares for women and pleasure contrasted with his miserly penny pinching father (Ganjiro Nakamura) who hoards his money and dies unhappy. However, I was put off this film mostly by the over-the-top foppishness of the lead Ichikawa and the color film choice for this films exposes the shabbiness of the costumes and make-up especially the chomage shaved heads of the younger actors. This film strikes me as curiosity in the Masumura oeuvre more than anything-not his best work.