is a 1981

1981 in film

-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

 Japanese film

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

 by director Shohei Imamura. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...

 section at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival

1981 Cannes Film Festival

- Jury :*Jacques Deray *Ellen Burstyn *Jean-Claude Carrière *Robert Chazal *Attilio D'Onofrio *Christian Defaye *Carlos Diegues *Antonio Gala...

.

Cast

• Kaori Momoi - Ine
• Shigeru Izumiya
  Shigeru Izumiya
  Shigeru Izumiya is a Japanese poet, folk singer, actor, tarento. He established record company "For Life Records" with Takuro Yoshida, Yosui Inoue, Hitoshi Komuro in 1975...
  
   - Genji
• Ken Ogata
  Ken Ogata
  Ken Ogata was a Japanese actor.Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama...
  
   - Furukawa
• Shigeru Tsuyuguchi - Kinzo
• Masao Kusakari - Itoman

Plot

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ee ja nai ka

Ee ja nai ka

was a complex of carnivalesque religious celebrations and communal activities which occurred in many parts of Japan from June 1867 to May 1868, at the end of the Edo period and the start of the Meiji restoration. In West Japan, it appeared at first in the form of dancing festivals, often related to...

" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Kokyo

Kokyo

is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains several buildings including the main palace , the emperor left Kyoto Imperial Palace for Tokyo...

, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Awards

Awards: Japanese Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress: Yūko Tanaka, Newcomer of the Year: Yūko Tanaka 
Blue Ribbon Award, Best Supporting Actress: Yūko Tanaka 
Hochi Film Award: Best Supporting Actress: Yūko Tanaka 
Mainichi Film Concours: Best Sound Recording: Shôtarô Yoshida

External links

• Eijanaika at Rotten Tomatoes
  Rotten Tomatoes
  Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...