Nippon Sengoshi - Madamu onboro no Seikatsu (1970)

Director:

Shohei Imamura

Writer:

Shohei Imamura (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Post War

Cast

Chieko Akaza
Etsuko Akaza
Tami Akaza
Fukumi Kuroda
Rikiya Yasuoka

Also Known As:

History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Nihon Eiga Shinsha

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinéma, de notre temps: Shohei Imamura - Le libre penseur" (1995)

Prostitution as a metaphor for post-war history of Japan

This is a documentary film about history of Japan in 1945-1970. The main narrative takes shape through describing events in one woman's unstable personal life. It consists of archive footage of political turmoil, demonstrations and other news flashes on one hand, and material from interviews with her on the other.

In the interview the woman describes her relationships with various men, starting from the age of 15 in 1945. After failed and violent relationships with Japanese men, she starts to seek comfort by prostituting herself to various American soldiers and sailors. This reflects the development of the post-war relations between United States and Japan, which is shown in the background. Yet she seems mostly uninterested in the political patterns evolving around her, and she even actively seeks denial when she is shown photographs of Vietnamese civilian casualties.

It's a very interesting perspective into Japanese history - and I have to admit that this contained much about the political history of Japan during 50's and 60's I wasn't previously aware of.