This Transient Life

Akio Jissou is an interesting figure in Japanese cinema since he cut his teeth on the kids Ultraman series on TV and then followed that up with challenging artistic New Wave film offerings produced by the Art Theater Guild (ATG). The first of these and the first of his Buddhist trilogy was This Transient Life (1970). It is part of a four film collection that was recently released by Arrow. It was the winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 1970 Lorcano Film Festival and was one of the ATG's biggest successes. The film is about a brother and sister from a rich family who  defy the expectations of their father, the son, Ryo Tamura, by refusing to go to college and pursue his father's business. He has an obsession with Buddhist statues. His sister, Michiko Tsubasa, refuses to marry the numerous proposals made to her from introductions. In their isolation they are drawn together into a doomed incestuous relationship. This film has exceptional cinematography from the team of Yuzo Inagaki, Masao Nakabori, and Kazumi Oneda. The Arrow extras include: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of This Transient Life, Mandara and Poem, Original uncompressed LPCM mono 1.0 audio on all three films, newly translated optional English subtitles, introductions to all three films by David Desser, author of Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave, Scene-select commentaries on all three films by Desser, Theatrical trailer for Mandara, Theatrical trailer for Poem, limited edition packaging, fully illustrated by maarko phntm and an illustrated 80-page perfect-bound collector s book featuring new writings on the film by Anton Bitel and Tom Mes.