Eijanaika

With its shattered scattered narrative, gritty visual and witty music, EIJANAIKA seems to give the truer picture of a time in Japanese history than any typical period picture with standard parameters would have. However, to get this impression of this two-and-a-half hour long film, one needs patience, interest in Imamura's work (It helps if one has seen and liked either Eeel, Vengeance, Narayama, or all of them) and liking for Japanese cinema. The start is very gripping. And its chaotic, musical, darkly funny finale remains one of the more memorable scenes involving mayhem one would encounter in a film from any timezone. It reminded me of the angry-crowd-flying-into-the-air end sequence of Vittorio De Sica's "Miracle In Milan". Overall it's fun to watch Imamura and his crew ("Stop, you funny Showmen! Or I'll Shoot" the ensemble is threatened)lending a musical ear to history.