The Ceremony
Among young filmmakers who emerged from the “New Wave” launched by Shōchiku Studios in the late 1950s to attract new audiences, Nagisa Ōshima established himself as its chief troublemaker. His radical choices led him to break away from the studio system, forging a filmography filled with unforgettable visions, defiant characters, and unfettered ideas that never ceased to be complex, bold, and surprising. Presented in collaboration with the Festival du nouveau cinéma, this series highlights Ōshima's work from the 1960s, alongside the celebrated masterpieces of his later career.
The Ceremony chronicles the life of a family from Japan’s upper middle class through various ceremonies — weddings and funerals — that took place over the years, specifically from 1947 to 1971.
Nagisa Ōshima
Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese film director, writer, and left-wing activist who is best known for his fiction films, having directed 23 features in a 40-year career. Regarded as one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time, he stands as one of the most important figures of the Japanese New Wave, alongside Shōhei Imamura. His film style was bold, innovative and provocative. His first major film, Cruel Story of Youth (1960), was one of the first Japanese New Wave films, a youth-oriented film with an earnest portrayal of the sexual lives and criminal activities of its young protagonists. He came to greater international renown after Death By Hanging (1968), a film on the theme of capital punishment and anti-Korean sentiment that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1968. His most controversial film is In the Realm of the Senses (1976), a sexually explicit film set in 1930s Japan. Throughout his career, common themes in his work included youthful rebellion, class and racial discrimination, and taboo sexuality.
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