The Catch

Nagisa Oshima's The Catch (1961) is the story of a downed black US pilot (Hugh Hurd) captured and imprisoned by rural villagers near Tokyo during WWII. Oshima is well known for his social issues films, his films are informed about his ideas about Japanese society and while these intellectual exercises are often interesting they often make for less than interesting films that feel overly didactic and contrived.The conflict arises between the village chief (Rentaro Mikuni) who wants to follow the letter of the law, while the villagers use the captive soldier as scapegoat for their frustrations related to war and the miserable life they are living in general. This theme calls to mind another Japanese film I recently saw that is set during the same time period and has the same theme, Legend of a Duel to the Death by Keisuke Kinoshita that is more effective in its critique of Japanese society. There are some interesting ideas and some artistry on display here, but it feels overlong and like something of a chore to get through.