Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Profound Desires of the Gods

Original title: Kamigami no fukaki yokubô
  • 19681968
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 53m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
Drama
An engineer from Tokyo arrives on a drought-ridden tropical island to drill a well to power a nearby sugar mill. He meets the inbred Futori family, hated by the locals for breaking religious... Read allAn engineer from Tokyo arrives on a drought-ridden tropical island to drill a well to power a nearby sugar mill. He meets the inbred Futori family, hated by the locals for breaking religious customs.An engineer from Tokyo arrives on a drought-ridden tropical island to drill a well to power a nearby sugar mill. He meets the inbred Futori family, hated by the locals for breaking religious customs.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
    • Shôhei Imamura
    • Keiji Hasebe
    • Shôhei Imamura
  • Stars
    • Rentarô Mikuni
    • Chôichirô Kawarasaki
    • Hideko Okiyama
    • Shôhei Imamura
    • Keiji Hasebe
    • Shôhei Imamura
  • Stars
    • Rentarô Mikuni
    • Chôichirô Kawarasaki
    • Hideko Okiyama
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 7User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos12

    Kazuo Kitamura and Hideko Okiyama in Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rentarô Mikuni
    Rentarô Mikuni
    • Nekichi Futori…
    Chôichirô Kawarasaki
    • Kametaro Futori…
    Hideko Okiyama
    • Toriko Futori…
    Kanjûrô Arashi
    Kanjûrô Arashi
    • Yamamori Futor…
    Yasuko Matsui
    • Uma Futori…
    Yoshi Katô
    Yoshi Katô
    • Ritsugen Ryu
    Izumi Hara
    • Unari Ryu
    Jun Hamamura
    Jun Hamamura
    Kazuo Kitamura
    • Kariya…
    Tatsu Nakamura
    Susumu Mizushima
    Hôsei Komatsu
    Hôsei Komatsu
    Chikako Hosokawa
    Chikako Hosokawa
    Yasuhiko Ishizu
    Kazuhiko Hasegawa
    Taiji Tonoyama
    Taiji Tonoyama
    Chikage Ôgi
    Kiyoshi Tokugawa
      • Shôhei Imamura
      • Keiji Hasebe
      • Shôhei Imamura
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Insect Woman
    7.4
    The Insect Woman
    Pigs and Battleships
    7.5
    Pigs and Battleships
    Black Rain
    7.9
    Black Rain
    Intentions of Murder
    7.7
    Intentions of Murder
    The Pornographers
    7.2
    The Pornographers
    Why Not?
    6.8
    Why Not?
    Vengeance Is Mine
    7.7
    Vengeance Is Mine
    The Ballad of Narayama
    7.8
    The Ballad of Narayama
    The Eel
    7.3
    The Eel
    A Story from Chikamatsu
    8.0
    A Story from Chikamatsu
    Dr. Akagi
    7.2
    Dr. Akagi
    Kôshikei
    7.5
    Kôshikei

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Official submission of Japan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970.
    • Quotes

      Yamamori Futor: He shouldn't take money. The engineer is a god who came from beyond the sea. It will not do to take money for serving that god.

    • Connections
      Featured in Cinéma, de notre temps: Shohei Imamura, le libre penseur (1995)

    User reviews7

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Feverishly Transportative
    Of all the Imamuras I've seen, this is the one that goes to the desert island with me. "Profound Desires of the Gods" (1968) is a feverishly transportative and sumptuous film. It seems as if when one starts to think nothing happens, everything happens.

    Imamura's view of humanity is a curious blend of pessimism and deep, resonant humor to the extent that they seem to cancel each other out. Perhaps this is why his films are so peculiarly observant, and indeed anthropological. In this respect he's successful both as a "realist" (a notion I'm not fond of in the domain of film but which I use here complimentarily) and a visual poet. In fact, some portions of this film strongly foreshadow Malick's "The Thin Red Line" (1998) in the visual depiction of the narrative role of nature.

    All of the Imamuras I know have an image (motif) or a scene that become a kind of hub; definitions of the films and something that stay and live on in the memory. In this film there are many, but two images glow strongest: the pit that Nekichi and the Futoris have been digging for years, as well as the final climax at sea.

    On the dedicated forum for this film it has been suggested that there are many parallels between this and Teshigahara's "Suna no onna" (1964). I think that's a connection worth acknowledging and at best it enriches both films.

    At this writing this film has received only 475 votes, which is a very small number considering this film has been available on Blu-ray courtesy of the Masters of Cinema series (Region B) for two and a half years.
    helpful•10
    4
    • kurosawakira
    • Jan 1, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 22, 1970 (United States)
      • Japan
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Ishigaki-jima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
    • Production company
      • Nikkatsu
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 53 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Profound Desires of the Gods (1968) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.