Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)

The trials and tribulations of Eddie and other transvestites in Japan.

Director:

Toshio Matsumoto

Writer:

Toshio Matsumoto

Stars:

Pîtâ, Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshimi Jô

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pîtâ	...	Eddie
Osamu Ogasawara	...	Leda
Yoshimi Jô	...	Jimi
Koichi Nakamura	...	Juju
Flamenco Umeji	...	Greco
Saako Oota	...	Mari
Tarô Manji	...	Nora
Toyosaburo Uchiyama	...	Guevara
Mikio Shibayama	...	Philosopher
Wataru Hikonagi	...	Sabu
Fuchisumi Gomi	...	Piro
Chieko Kobayashi	...	Okei
Yô Satô	...	Radon
Keiichi Takenaga	...	Humpback
Mamoru Hirata

Storyline

While dealing drugs on the side, Gonda operates the Genet, a gay bar in Tokyo where he has hired a stable of transvestites to service the customers. The madame or lead "girl" of the bar is Leda, an older, old fashioned geisha-styled transvestite with who Gonda lives and is in a relationship. Arguably, the most popular of the girls working at the bar now is Eddie, a younger, modern transvestite. Like Leda, Eddie lives openly as a woman. Eddie's troubled life includes her father having deserted the family when she was a child, and having had a difficult relationship with her mother following, she who mocked Eddie's ability to be the man the of the family. Gonda enters into a sexual relationship with Eddie, who he promises to make madame of the bar, replacing Leda in both facets of his life, with Eddie having threatened to quit otherwise. While Leda suspects what Gonda and Eddie are up to, Gonda tells Leda what she wants to hear, much as he tells Eddie what she wants to hear. As this ...

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Plot Keywords:

gay | tokyo japan | gay bar | male nudity | stabbing | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

One short but prominent scene in the film takes place in an alley, with the characters standing in front of five Japanese posters for Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Oedipus Rex." Given the plot of the film, this eventually comes to constitute a significant allusion.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Eddie: This is my first movie and I'm interested. My circumstances are like his. That's one reason. And the gay life is portrayed beautifully.

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Connections

References The Face of Another (1966)

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Soundtracks

O du lieber Augustin

User Reviews

The search for love, identity and place in a Tokyo bar is a one of the great "unknown" films of cinema

Eddie is a transvestite hostess at one of Tokyo's clubs. He/she spends her time working, being in the films of a friend, taking drugs and trying to find love.

Said to be one of Stanley Kubrick's favorite films and a big influence on Clockwork Orange this is probably one of the best films most people have never seen. Released in 1969 this film is as fresh and shattering as it must have been back when it was made. Set in a "Gay" world this is actually a movie about people and how they act and feel, the fact that they are gay is irrelevant. These are real people in a real world that seems to be happening now instead of when it was made (due no doubt to the stunning black and white photography). The film uses just about every 1960 "art film" technique you can think of and does so better than any film in from Europe ever did (Buñuel, and Bergman should have been this successful). Interviews of the cast, sudden juxtaposition of scenes, shifts in tone and style, sudden bursts of violence, all blend together to tell a story of a search for identity and place that is in its way universal, even if its outcome is not.

This is a movie that is simple to explain, but difficult to sum up. The effect of it being somewhat greater than the simplicity of the storyline.

See this movie. This is one of those movies that movie lovers should search out.

9 out of 10 (Because to be honest I'm not sure if I'm more in love with the technique or the film itself- though either way its a great film)

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

29 October 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Funeral Procession of Roses

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,114

Company Credits

Production Co:

Art Theatre Guild (ATG), Matsumoto Production Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1