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IMDbPro

Grass Labyrinth

Original title: Kusa-meikyû
  • 19791979
  • 40m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
682
YOUR RATING
Grass Labyrinth (1979)
ShortFantasyRomance
A young man, haunted by his past, travels the land in search of the lyrics to a lullaby his mother used to sing to him.A young man, haunted by his past, travels the land in search of the lyrics to a lullaby his mother used to sing to him.A young man, haunted by his past, travels the land in search of the lyrics to a lullaby his mother used to sing to him.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
682
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Shûji Terayama
  • Writers
    • Kyoka Izumi(story)
    • Rio Kishida
    • Shûji Terayama
  • Stars
    • Hiroshi Mikami
    • Takeshi Wakamatsu
    • Keiko Niitaka
  • Director
    • Shûji Terayama
  • Writers
    • Kyoka Izumi(story)
    • Rio Kishida
    • Shûji Terayama
  • Stars
    • Hiroshi Mikami
    • Takeshi Wakamatsu
    • Keiko Niitaka
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Grass Labyrinth (1979)
    Grass Labyrinth (1979)
    Grass Labyrinth (1979)
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    Top cast

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    Hiroshi Mikami
    Hiroshi Mikami
    • Akira…
    Takeshi Wakamatsu
    • Akira…
    Keiko Niitaka
    Keiko Niitaka
    • Mother
    Yasumi Nakasuji
    • Chiyojo…
    Miho Fukuya
    • Midori…
    Jûzô Itami
    Jûzô Itami
    • Principal…
    Yoko Ran
      Masaharu Satô
        • Director
          • Shûji Terayama
        • Writers
          • Kyoka Izumi(story)
          • Rio Kishida
          • Shûji Terayama
        • All cast & crew
        • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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        Storyline

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        Did you know

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        • Connections
          Edited into Collections privées (1979)

        User reviews4

        Review
        Review
        Featured review
        Grass Labyrinth (1983)
        A near-masterpiece from the legendary Japanese avant-garde artist Shuji Terayama, 40 minutes long and originally included in a French movie package Private Collections, the other two films of which were directed by Walerian Borowczyk and Just Jaeckin. Grass Labyrinth, apart from featuring cult comedy director Juzo Itami in a small role, is also blessed with J. A. Saezer's lullabyish soundtrack which sometimes also consists of heartbeats played along with a recording of someone breathing.

        Grass Labyrinth is, like most of Terayama's works, self-reflective and filled with many references to his childhood. Leitmotifs from his other films are present here as well, such as windmills, bridal headdresses worn by his overprotective mother, the attractive/nymphomaniac neighboring girl whom the protagonist's mother forbids him to see, Oedipal complex, the father who's also a naval officer, circus freaks, the protagonist getting forcefully "seduced" by a woman, etc. It has the most similarities to his movie Pastoral: To Die in the Country, so I guess you could call this one Pastoral 2.0.

        The protagonist in this movie travels the land to find the lyrics to a lullaby his mother may have sang to him. Of course, knowing Terayama, this journey becomes a psycho-sexual, surreal voyage through space and time filled with eroticism, symbolism and strange landscapes. All of this culminates in the final, adrenaline-ridden scene where the hero faces off against aforementioned freaks.

        Grass Labyrinth is ultimately a movie with some unforgettable imagery; round "pregnancy stones" which turn sterile women fertile, a man fondling a naked woman with a calligraphed body on a seashore, the hero watching children play in a barren desert. I'd call it a film of its kind, but Terayama can produce much weirder stuff, so this is where I end things.
        helpful•9
        2
        • mevmijaumau
        • Feb 1, 2015

        Details

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        • Release date
          • 1979 (France)
        • Countries of origin
          • Japan
          • France
        • Language
          • Japanese
        • Also known as
          • Tarladaki Labirent
        • Production company
          • Jinriki Hikoki Sha
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Technical specs

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        • Runtime
          40 minutes
        • Color
          • Color
        • Sound mix
          • Mono
        • Aspect ratio
          • 1.66 : 1

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